Democrats slammed over bill to hike taxes on major oil companies

Congressional Democrats want to bring down sky-high gas prices by raising taxes on major oil-and-gas companies, a proposal that dumbfounded critics said would trigger even higher prices at the pump.

The Big Oil Windfall Profits Act introduced Friday by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, Rhode Island Democrat, and Rep. Ro Khanna, California Democrat, would place a tax on each barrel of oil equal to 50% of the difference between current prices and the pre-pandemic 2015-19 average.

“This is a bill to reduce gas prices and hold Big Oil accountable,” said Mr. Khanna...