House Defeats Measure to Lower Oil Taxes - KXNet - Bismarck/Minot/Williston/Dickinson

House Defeats Measure to Lower Oil Taxes

A proposal to lower tax rates for oil companies has been defeated in the North Dakota House.

The bill came out of the Tax and Finance Committee with a do not pass recommendation.

The bill was intended to lower the oil extraction tax.

In exchange, the bill would have cut the exemption for so called stripper wells and eliminate price triggers that would lessen state taxes for companies if the price of oil falls below a certain level.

Sponsor, Senator Dwight Cook says the purpose was to bring tax certainty to the oil industry and the state.

However Democrats blasted the measure saying it would cost North Dakotan's more than $1.3 billion in the first five years.

"Our committee believes a solution and revision of this policy must be revenue neutral, it must continue to serve the long term best interests of our citizens. We understand the longer term vitality of the oil industry is essential to ND's future," says Representative Craig Headland of Montpelier.

Headland says the committee was unable to come to a consensus on the measure.

The vote was 87-6 to kill the bill.