Tom Wolfs agenda: Tax natural gas drilling | marcellus One of the battles expected in the 2015 session of the Louisiana Legislature is going to be over state finances, which the Jindal administration (with ample help from the legislature) has wrecked catastrophically. The shortfall for the next budget is pegged at $1.4 billion, but with the price of oil still plunging, that seems like a low-ball estimate. Of course, we still have to make it out of this year and its likely that there will be a massive hole to fill by the time the end of the fiscal year approaches. The state does not have a budget problem so much as it has a priorities problem. I say that because we give away about $7 BILLION in tax exemptions every year. About $500 Million of our exemptions apply to severance taxes — our commonly shared claim on the mineral wealth of this state. When we exempt those taxes we turn that public wealth (severance tax revenue) into private wealth (money kept by oil and gas companies and property owners who hold the rights to those minerals. Suspending severance taxes reduces revenue for things like roads, bridges, higher education and healthcare. It also has the effect of negating the publics standing on decisions regarding how those resources will be developed. Pennsylvania is considering a severance tax, according to this story. It already has drilling impact fees that help local governments deal with the burdens imposed on it by the (now fading) shale boom. In Louisiana, the oil and gas industry regularly fights any and all attempts to suspend severance tax exemptions, and opposes any form of local control or compensation for the burdens created by its activities. The industrys stark opposition to the well-being of the state and its people will be made explicit this coming year. Whose side are they on? Why, theirs!
Posted on: Sat, 03 Jan 2015 00:00:26 +0000
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