Ohio governor seeks taxes on oil & gas drilling

Governor John Kasich
Governor John Kasich has revealed his plans to propose an "impact fee" for the oil and gas drilling going on in the state of Ohio.

“We have to make sure we have impact fees,” Kasich said. “At some point, these counties are going to benefit, but in the early years, when it comes to the erosion of roads and infrastructure, we need to make sure that these locals are going to be in a position to manage their infrastructure.”

The proposed tax has supporters and critics. 
On the one hand, environmental advocates feel that the tax could be a very good idea if the funds are properly utilized.  On the other, the Ohio Oil and Gas Association projects a huge increase in the annual income tax in the coming years due to the drilling activity and feels that this tax burden along with sales tax, commercial activity tax, and severance tax place enough of a burden on the industry.  Thus the concern that increasing taxes will discourage development.

What do you think?  Is additional tax on the oil and gas companies a good idea, or is the governor simply taking advantage of an opportunity to increase taxes?  Sound off in the comments!

Read the entire news story here



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