From the Oklahoman
In dual committees that met after 11 p.m. Monday, the Oklahoma Legislature advanced a temporary raise in the gross production tax. House Bill 2429 raises the oil and gas production tax rate to 4 percent on wells that are taxed at 1 percent.
While new horizontal wells are taxed at 2 percent, some older wells drilled between 2011 and 2015 are taxed at the lower discount rate. After 48 months in operation, those wells are scheduled to be taxed at 7 percent.
If the bill becomes law, it would raise approximately $95.3 million in the budget year that begins July 1.
The bill passed in both the House and Senate Joint Committees on Appropriations and Budget and can be considered this week by the Legislature’s full membership.
Democrats have haggled for a 5-percent or higher gross production tax rate on all new wells.
“We need revenue, and the gross production tax cuts over the past several years have decimated our budget,” said House Minority Leader Scott Inman, D-Del City. “You’re telling your constituents that 2 percent is good for their kids, their hospitals and their roads.”
