Lower Oil Tax for North Dakota

North Dakota Oil Tax Reductions
North Dakota Oil Tax Reductions

North Dakota is one step closer to cutting the price-triggered exemption that will lower the extraction tax on oil.

Related: North Dakota Tax Trigger Getting Closer

On Friday, North Dakota lawmakers cleared the way to change a 30 year old tax structure that gave some tax breaks for the oil industry have been linked to a price "trigger."  Debate in North Dakota’s House was fierce and ended in a 66-26 vote in favor of cutting the state’s oil tax rate from 11.5 percent to 10 percent.

Republicans believe that this will provide a more stable table policy that will boost the state’s economy, but Democrats have said that it will cost the state billions over the next 10 years. The legislature’s research group estimates that the new tax structure will add $120 million to the state’s coffers between 2015-2017.

Now that the bill has cleared both house and the senate, the bill is now on its way to the governor’s desk for final approval.

Governor Dalrymple’s spokesman Jeff Zent said the governor had not studied the bill. “Generally speaking, a flat tax offers the advantage of greater economic certainty,” Zent said. “But the details of any plan are very important, and we haven’t seen a final proposal.

To read the full bill, visit nd.gov.