Oklahoma House Approves Drilling Tax Incentive

The Oklahoma House has approved a bill to adjust and make permanent a generous tax incentive for oil and gas production in the state.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The Oklahoma House has approved a bill to adjust and make permanent a generous tax incentive for oil and gas production in the state.

The House voted 61-34 on Thursday for the bill that increases the 1 percent tax rate for horizontally drilled oil and gas wells to 2 percent for the first three years of production. After that, the rate would increase to the standard production tax rate of 7 percent.

The tax rate on production from traditional vertical wells, currently at 7 percent, would also drop to 2 percent for three years.

House Speaker Jeff Hickman says the bill would be revenue neutral for the first two fiscal years, but likely to result in increased revenue to the state after that.

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