$.15 Gas Tax Increase Proposal

I've been reading about the President's Deficit Commission's proposals.  Most will never be enacted, but one intrigues me.  Among the proposals Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson announced last week was a 15 cent per gallon Federal tax increase.  This is one I think that the GOP can work with, if they leverage it against relaxed EPA regulations that allow increased domestic crude production, i.e. Gulf of Mexico, Coast of California and Anwr, Alaska.

Today crude is selling for $85 a barrel. OPEC is the beneficiary of huge profits at this price. Gas prices in Colorado are about $2.50 a gallon.  I have statistics based on $3.00 per gallon pricing, when crude was a bit higher higher priced, but stay with me..


Here's the breakdown of the $3.00 per gallon price.

Based upon a $3.00 gallon of gasoline, the average break-down is as follows.
Gasoline Retailer $.01 cents per gallon
Oil Company $.08 cents per gallon
Refining $.29 cents per gallon
Marketing/Distribution $.32 cents per gallon
Taxes $.59 cents per gallon
Cost of crude $1.71 per gallon (delivered) Source

Coupla interesting things.  The State, Local and Federal taxes are $.59 while the oil companies' profit is $.08 and the retailers' is $.01. But I'm digressing.  The major component of the $3.00 price is the $1.71 cost of crude, primarily OPEC controlled.

If OPEC oil reliance was minimized by maximizing the use of American oil reserves (Gulf, California, Alaska) couldn't that $1.71 per gallon crude cost be reduced dramatically?  Enough to grant the proposed $.15/gallon Federal deficit reduction tax, possibly allow the oil companies and retailers to increase their $.08 and $.01 profit/gallon respectively and lower the price at the pump to the consumer?  I'm not the brightest bulb on the tree, but I think so...  


I'm just sayin.