HOUSE BILL No. 5981

April 10, 2008, Introduced by Reps. Miller, Constan, Polidori, Kathleen Law, Condino and Vagnozzi and referred to the Committee on Tax Policy.

 

     A bill to amend 1929 PA 48, entitled

 

"An act levying a specific tax to be known as the severance tax

upon all producers engaged in the business of severing oil and gas

from the soil; prescribing the method of collecting the tax;

requiring all producers of such products or purchasers thereof to

make reports; to provide penalties; to provide exemptions and

refunds; to prescribe the disposition of the funds so collected;

and to exempt those paying such specific tax from certain other

taxes,"

 

by amending section 3 (MCL 205.303), as amended by 1996 PA 135.

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

 

     Sec. 3. (1) Except as provided in subsections (2) and (3), the

 

severance tax required to be paid by each producer at the time of

 

rendering each monthly report, or by a pipeline company, common

 

carrier, or common purchaser, for and on behalf of a producer,

 

shall be in the amount of 5% of the gross cash market value of the

 

total production of gas or 6.6% of the gross cash market value of

 

the total production of oil during the preceding monthly period,

 


exclusive of the production or proceeds from the production

 

attributable to the this state, the government of the United

 

States, or a political subdivision of the this state or government

 

of the United States. The value of all production shall be computed

 

as of the time when and at the place where the production was

 

severed or taken from the soil immediately after the severance.

 

Except as otherwise provided in this section, the payment of the

 

severance tax shall be required of each producer. If the production

 

is sold or delivered to a pipeline company and is transported by

 

the pipeline company through lines connected with the oil or gas

 

well of the owner, or of a common purchaser, the pipeline company,

 

or common purchaser shall receive and accept all the oil and gas,

 

subject to a lien, as prescribed in section 8, and the pipeline

 

company shall withhold out of the proceeds or price to be paid for

 

the products severed, the proportionate parts of the tax due by the

 

respective owners of the oil and gas at the time of severance and,

 

at the time required for the filing of the monthly reports required

 

in section 2, shall pay to the department of revenue treasury all

 

the tax money collected or withheld. Each pipeline company, common

 

carrier, or common purchaser shall deduct from the purchase price

 

paid to a producer from whom it may receive the oil or gas the

 

amount of the severance tax levied in this section before making

 

the payment. If under the terms of a contract the pipeline company,

 

common carrier, or common purchaser is required to reimburse a

 

producer of oil or gas for the amount of the severance tax or a

 

part of the severance tax, the tax reimbursement shall not be

 

considered a part of the gross cash market value of the total

 


production of the oil or gas.

 

     (2) The For months ending before September 30, 2007, the

 

severance tax required to be paid by each producer at the time of

 

rendering each monthly report, or by a pipeline company, common

 

carrier, or common purchaser, for and on behalf of a producer, on

 

stripper well crude oil, as defined in former section 8 of the

 

emergency petroleum allocation act of 1973, 15 U.S.C. USC 757 and

 

on crude oil from marginal properties as defined in former part

 

212, subpart D, of chapter II of title 10 of the code of federal

 

regulations 10 CFR 212.72 to 212.77, shall be in the amount of 4%

 

of the gross cash market value of the total production of the oil,

 

during the preceding monthly period, exclusive of the production or

 

proceeds from the production attributable to the state, the

 

government of the United States, or a political subdivision of the

 

state or government of the United States. The value of all

 

production shall be computed as of the time when and at the place

 

where the production was severed or taken from the soil immediately

 

after the severance.

 

     (3) A producer is not required to pay a severance tax on

 

income received from the hydrocarbons produced from devonian or

 

antrim shale qualifying for the nonconventional fuel credit

 

contained in section 29 of the internal revenue code, of 1986, 26

 

U.S.C. USC 29 and acquired pursuant to a royalty interest sold by

 

the state under section 503.