Over the weekend, the mega-wealthy CEOs of our big three energy companies – Harold Hamm (Continental Resources), Larry Nichols (Devon Energy), and Doug Lawler (Chesapeake Energy) – partnered with the The Oklahoman to pitch a new, totally reasonable tax plan on horizontal drilling production.
From NewsOK.com:
Executives from three of Oklahoma’s largest oil and natural gas companies have proposed a new plan for the state’s tax on oil and natural gas production.
The proposal is the latest offering in the ongoing struggle at the Capitol to address the current tax plan, which is set to expire next year.
The newest proposal would change the gross production tax rate to 2 percent for both horizontal and vertical wells for the first four years of production. The rate would then rise to 7 percent. The proposal has earned the backing of Larry Nichols, executive chairman at Devon Energy Corp.; Harold Hamm, CEO of Continental Resources Inc.; and Chesapeake Energy Corp. CEO Doug Lawler.
“We’ve come up with a proposal that makes the tax simpler, makes it permanent, treats everyone in the industry the same way so it’s totally fair for everyone in the industry,” Nichols said. “It has a modest tax increase to it and continues the economic activity, which benefits everybody.”
Boy, we sure are lucky to have a trio of nice businessman available to come up with a "simpler," "permanent" and "totally fair" taxation plan for their own industry. Obviously, these guys and their for-profit companies that have earned billions of dollars in revenue by draining Oklahoma resources know the best way they should be taxed. It's why we let car dealers determine motor vehicle excise taxes, give bars the power to set liquor taxes, and let rich Republicans lower the top income tax rate.
Of course, I have to ask. Why do we need this new reasonable plan?