During the legislative session earlier this year Democrats were in attack mode over two budget concerns. For one thing, they were worried that concerns over low oil prices would have the Republican majority spending too conservatively. “The sky is not falling here,” Senate Minority Leader Mac Schneider, a Democrat from Grand Forks, said. “We don’t…
North Dakota Democrats Still Wrong About The Oil Tax Trigger
During the Legislative session earlier this year lawmakers were concerned, in a big way, about falling oil prices and the impact that would have on tax revenues. Ours is a state that budgets on revenue projections, and falling oil prices wouldn’t just hit direct taxes on oil activity. Less oil activity means less hiring and…
Get Your Tin Foil Hats: Democrats Accuse Republicans Of Controlling Oil Prices
Now that the much-dreaded “big trigger” oil tax exemption didn’t kick in thanks to a modest recovery in oil prices Democrats have decided to make political hay over bipartisan oil tax reform to eliminate that trigger in exchange for lower overall rates. Today the Democrats’ legislative leadership – House Minority Leader Kenton Onstad and Senate…
North Dakota Not Likely To Hit Dreaded Oil Tax Trigger
The 2015 legislative session was a strange one for North Dakota because it started out with strong revenue forecasts only to see lawmakers scramble to adjust budgets in the face of falling oil prices which had the potential to blow a multi-billion dollar hole in revenue projections. The biggest factor in those concerns was the…
Senate Amends Oil Tax Trigger Bill Heavily In Bid To Compromise With Democrats
UPDATE: This amendment was passed by the Senate committee on a 6-1 vote. All Republicans on the committee voted yes. The two Democrats split their votes. A source in the state Senate tells me that this afternoon at a 2:00pm meeting of the Senate Finance and Tax Committee an amendment will be offered to HB1476, the oil…
What North Dakota Democrats Aren't Telling You About Oil Tax Revenues
During the 2013 legislative session, when lawmakers were debating a proposal to eliminate triggers and exemptions in the state oil tax and replace them with a lower overall rate, Democrats rushed to the media with scary numbers about lost revenues. But it turned out the numbers they were using were cooked. No doubt hoping that…
ND Democrats Fighting Oil Tax Reform Should Take A Lesson From Kent Conrad
In the House Finance and Taxation committee today there is heated testimony over a delayed bill to eliminate a tax exemption triggered by low oil prices which could cost the state billions of revenues in the next biennium. Currently a 100 percent exemption to the state’s 6.5 percent extraction tax is on pace to trigger…
Ahead Of Revenue Forecast Dems Doing Oil Tax Trigger Damage Control
There is absolutely no question at this point that the decision by lawmakers in 2013 to rid the state’s oil tax code of oil price “triggers” and other exemptions was a mistake. With oil prices continuing to plunge it seems likely that a trigger eliminating the state’s oil extraction tax, and causing a wild multi-billion dollar…
North Dakota May Be Just Days Away From First Oil Tax Trigger
With oil prices plunging one major area of concern for North Dakota, aside from the economic downturn that would result from declining oil activity, is the impact on the state budget. Lower oil prices means less revenues for the state, particularly if two tax trigger landmines embedded in the code are invoked. Those triggers fire…