Gas Industry Credits and Rebates Cost Oklahoma $321 Million
The governor'’s office is calling for a reevaluation of the rebate system.
Tax breaks and credits may have benefited the oil and gas industry in Oklahoma in the last year, but they cost residents about $321 million.
Figures released by the state’s Secretary of Finance and Revenue Preston Doerflinger show that throughout the fiscal year ending on June 30, refunds and rebates for drilling were about $173 million, in addition to the $148 million credits that were delayed two years from the recession.
It was initially predicted that the credits would cost the state about $150 million over the course of three years. The qualifiers for the credits were determined in the 1990’s, and are so commonplace now that most of the new oil and gas wells qualify for them.
While these numbers seem harsh for Oklahoma, gains in income and sales tax collections helped to balance out the drop in oil and gas monetary gains.