HOUSE BILL No. 6083

 

December 6, 2012, Introduced by Rep. Nesbitt and referred to the Committee on Energy and Technology.

 

     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, and

 

by adding section 11a.

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

 

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

 

(4), and (5), 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 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 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.

 

     (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 45k of the internal revenue code, of 1986,

 

26 U.S.C. 29 USC 45k and acquired pursuant to a royalty interest

 

sold by the this state under section 503 of the natural resources

 

and environmental protection act, 1994 PA 451, MCL 324.503.

 

     (4) Beginning December 31, 2012, the severance tax required to


 

be paid by each producer at the time of rendering each monthly

 

report, on oil or gas produced from a secondary or enhanced

 

production project, shall be 4.0% of the gross cash market value

 

for oil and 3.0% of the gross cash market value for gas.

 

     (5) Beginning December 31, 2012, the severance tax required to

 

be paid by each producer at the time of rendering each monthly

 

report shall be in the amount of 3.0% of the gross cash market

 

value of the total production of gas, when the monthly gas volume

 

as reported by the producer to the Michigan public service

 

commission averages less than 15 thousand cubic feet (Mcf) per day

 

for a single gas well, or averages less than 15 thousand cubic feet

 

(Mcf) per day for all gas wells when gas volumes are reported on a

 

multiwell project.

 

     Sec. 11a. As used in this act, "secondary or enhanced

 

production" means the injection into a reservoir of substances such

 

as water, brine, natural gas, nitrogen, steam, or carbon dioxide or

 

other substance that did not originate in the reservoir, to

 

increase the amount of oil or gas recoverable from the reservoir,

 

provided the injection has been approved by the supervisor of wells

 

of the department of environmental quality under the authority of

 

part 615 of the natural resources and environmental protection act,

 

1994 PA 451, MCL 324.61501 to 324.61527, or part 617 of the natural

 

resources and environmental protection act, 1994 PA 451, MCL

 

324.61701 to 324.61738.