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Kasich, Republicans Differ On Oil & Gas Tax

Politics Ohio

Governor Kasich’s proposal in his mid-biennium budget to raise taxes on oil and gas drillers in Ohio is being met with resistance from Republicans in the Ohio legislature. In this week’s PoliticsOhio, the Statehouse News Bureau’s Andy Chow tells Emily McCord that two different proposals are being debated.

Chow reports that the current tax rate on oil and gas drillers is very low compared to other states. Governor Kasich’s proposal would raise the tax to 2.75 percent. Matt Huffman (R-Lima) has a different proposal that would raise the tax to 2.25 percent.

Chow says critics of Kasich’s plan to raise the tax from 2 percent to 2.75 percent will burden a budding industry in Ohio.

“People often ask me what’s the difference between 2.0 and 2.75? Why are you quibbling about that? We are quibbling about very, very large numbers,” says The Ohio Oil and Gas Association’s Tom Stewart in an interview with Chow this week.

Supporters of Kasich’s plan say this will help capitalize on a growing industry that’s expected to bring in nearly $880 million to the state in the next three fiscal years. Chow reports that liberals think the tax rate isn’t high enough and won’t be able to compensate communities in the state for the potential environmental and other issues that can arise from horizontal drilling.

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