CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The bill to lower the state’s severance tax on coal and natural gas is going nowhere during this Regular Legislative Session.
House Finance Committee Vice Chairman Eric Householder announced Wednesday instead of passing the bill, the Legislature will study the tax cuts over the course of this year. The Senate approved the bill with a 19-15 vote last week.
The legislation, SB 705, would lower the severance tax, paid by coal and gas industries, by one percent per year for each of the next two fiscal years beginning July 1, 2017. That would lower the tax from five percent to three percent by July 1, 2019.
Last week, Bob Murray, the CEO of Murray Energy and West Virginia Coal Association, told MetroNews he was pushing for a relief with these tax cuts for nearly a year.
“This state can’t compete and people’s jobs are being destroyed,” he said.
There are 49 coal companies in bankruptcy, 27 of those in West Virginia, Murray said.
The cuts would have costed the state millions of dollars in tax revenue over the next several years, something Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin opposed.
The 60-day session closes Saturday evening.