Wyoming gets more than 70 percent of its total revenue from taxes on mineral extraction (such as coal, oil and gas), but mineral extraction companies owe over $42 million in unpaid county taxes throughout the state, according to a recent report from the Powder River Basin Resource Council. Many are bankrupt or otherwise defunct, so collecting will be difficult.
Though the Powder River Basin is the nation's most productive coalfield, production peaked in 2008. And as coal jobs melted away, so did some of the state's tax base: Wyoming lost a higher percentage of its population than any other state in 2017.
The report lays out four suggestions to help fix state and local tax systems hurt by the coal bust:
- Counties should collect mineral taxes monthly instead of yearly
- Counties should attach liens on mineral taxes, which would make them a higher priority for collections if a company goes bankrupt
- Establish a state funding pool to help counties hire specialized legal counsel during bankruptcy proceedings
- Pass a law to allow regulators to check the status of a company's tax debt in Wyoming before allowing sale or transfer of assets.
"There may not be many booms left for Wyoming, and we need to ensure that citizens benefit from minerals that, once severed, will never be replenished,” the report says. PRBRC's previous recommendations for fixing state and local tax systems failed to pass the state legislature in 2016 and 2017.
The group also recommends that the state better enforce mine reclamation laws to restore the environment and extend mining jobs, as well as diversify its economy so it won't be as dependent on mineral extraction.
from The Rural Blog http://ift.tt/2ozvEHN Wyoming budget crisis tied to mining downturn - Entrepreneur Generations
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