Oil and Gas Industry Wins for Now as Ohio Severance Tax is Shot Down

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From The Chillicothe Gazette:
Kasich spokesman Rob Nichols said the governor is not dropping the issue. He called the idea of raising the severance tax “a layup” but declined to say who or what was making its passage so difficult. 
When state Treasurer Josh Mandel, another Republican, assailed the severance tax during a speech to the Ohio Oil and Gas Association in March, Nichols said “big oil is a powerful lobby with very deep pockets, and it's not surprising that some are intimidated by them.” He called an American Petroleum Institute poll with questionable wording that showed Ohioans against the severance tax a “push poll” meant to influence public opinion, rather than measure it. 
Youngstown Democratic state representative Bob Hagan, who has put forth his own severance tax proposal, said House Republicans are beholden to the oil and gas lobby. 
“They’ve capitulated to the oil/gas industry,” said Hagan, who has announced his intention to challenge Ohio’s Republican U.S. Senator Rob Portman in 2016. “They are pretty much in the pockets of the oil and gas industry. They write all the legislation. They are in committee. They have dictated the discussion.”
Read the whole article here. 

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