Colorado Raising Taxes On Oil, Gas Drillers By $4.8 Million

DENVER (AP) — Colorado oil and gas regulators are raising taxes on energy developers to help pay for the environmental impacts of drilling.

The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission approved a plan on Monday to raise $4.8 million more in taxes by charging 0.11 cents on every dollar of oil and gas produced.

The industry supported the increase.

Local governments and environmentalists had urged commissioners to raise taxes by at least $7 million a year to address more public health and safety issues.

The commission is almost totally funded by industry taxes. The tax hike will compensate for a projected drop in separate severance taxes charged to drillers partly because of a court ruling allowing companies to deduct the cost of some capital expenditures.

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