Opponents Of Natural Gas Severance Tax Hike Stage Capitol Rally

Opponents of a natural gas severance tax increase staged a rally at the state capitol to show opposition to a proposal that has yet to qualify for the November ballot.

Former natural gas executive Sheffield Nelson is collecting signatures to qualify a citizen’s initiative that aims to jump the Arkansas severance tax rate on natural gas to a flat 7%.

From Rob Moritz with our content partner, the Arkansas News Bureau:

About 300 royalty owners and other advocates for natural gas exploration in Arkansas rallied at the state Capitol today in opposition to a proposal to raise the severance tax on natural gas.

Several speakers told the crowd raising the severance tax would give Arkansas one of the highest natural gas severance tax rates in the country and make it hard to compete with surrounding states for jobs and economic development.

“Let’s don’t mess up a good thing for Arkansas,” Magnolia Mayor Parnell Vann told the crowd. “It’s just not good for South Arkansas.”

Today’s rally was sponsored by Arkansans for Jobs and Affordable Energy, a group headed by the State Chamber of Commerce-Associated Industries of Arkansas.

Randy Zook, president of the state chamber and chairman of the AJAE chairman, told the crowd that raising the severance tax “will threaten the existence of hundreds, if not thousands, of jobs across the state of Arkansas.

“It would harm or hinder our ability to compete with other states, namely Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas and even North Dakota and Pennsylvania for further business development of our mineral resources, and it would definitely be detrimental to the future economic growth of our state,” he said.

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