It appears Pennsylvania is not the only state in the Marcellus/Utica region facing pressure to kill the drilling industry with high severance taxes. West Virginia is now facing a fight of its own. WV already has the highest severance tax among the three M-U producing states. Ohio’s effective severance tax rate is 1.3%. Pennsylvania’s effective severance tax rate (called an impact fee, roughly the same thing), works out to be around 2.9%. WV’s severance tax is an already-high 5%–yet in WV (like PA) teacher’s unions are pressuring politicians to raise the severance tax. In WV they want a boost to a “modest” 7.5%. It would make WV the highest severance tax in the lower 48 if it went to 7.5%. WV is rattled following an extended teacher strike, looking to prevent a future strike. While we’ve not read of any specific new proposals (bills) to increase the severance tax, folks from the drilling industry are worried enough that a past president of IOGAWV penned the following editorial on the topic…
It appears Pennsylvania is not the only state in the Marcellus/Utica region facing pressure to kill the drilling industry with high severance taxes. West Virginia is now facing a fight of its own. WV already has the highest severance tax among the three M-U producing states. Ohio’s effective severance tax rate is 1.3%. Pennsylvania’s effective severance tax rate (called an impact fee, roughly the same thing), works out to be around 2.9%. WV’s severance tax is an already-high 5%–yet in WV (like PA) teacher’s unions are pressuring politicians to raise the severance tax. In WV they want a boost to a “modest” 7.5%. It would make WV the highest severance tax in the lower 48 if it went to 7.5%. WV is rattled following an extended teacher strike, looking to prevent a future strike. While we’ve not read of any specific new proposals (bills) to increase the severance tax, folks from the drilling industry are worried enough that a past president of IOGAWV penned the following editorial on the topic…