Charleston Gazette-Mail – The West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy has released a study suggesting that raising the state’s severance tax on natural gas liquids could increase revenue and help West Virginia profit from the use of the liquids in state. Read
The study, which was released by the center on Wednesday, lays out a plan to increase the gas severance tax from 5 percent to 10 or 15 percent and would offer reductions on that rate for the gas and liquids that are used in ethane cracker plants or other downstream industries in West Virginia.
According to the study, which analyzed state tax data, the plan could increase state revenue by around $168 million over the next five years, and the authors believe the tax credits could incentivize the building of cracker plants or other chemical manufacturing facilities in West Virginia.
The research for the study was conducted as part of the Multi State Shale Research Collaborative, of which the Center on Budget and Policy is a member.
