Press Release from the West Virginia Oil & Natural Gas Association:
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Property taxes on oil and natural gas production will provide West Virginia’s county governments with over $123 million for local school systems and vital community services in 2019. The West Virginia Division of Tax & Revenue reported an increase of nearly 40 percent, or $34.8 million, over 2018.
“Those counties where natural gas and oil production is occurring have received hundreds of millions of dollars in the way of property tax receipts over the past several years,” said Anne Blankenship, Executive Director of the West Virginia Oil & Natural Gas Association (WVONGA). “Although the amount of property taxes may fluctuate year over year due to many factors including commodity prices, West Virginia’s producing counties continue to receive significant funds generated from the development of our oil and gas resources.”
The top five counties generating the largest oil and gas property taxes in 2019 include: Doddridge ($26.6 million; an increase of 65% over 2018); Tyler ($19.6 million; an increase of 98% over 2018); Ritchie ($15 million; an increase of 69% over 2018); Wetzel ($14.5 million; an increase of 18% over 2018); and Marshall ($11.7 million; an increase of 35% over 2018).
Other WV counties showing growth include Ohio ($7.3 million; an increase of 33% over 2018); Brooke ($3.8 million; an increase of 59% over 2018); and, Monongalia ($1.5 million; an increase of 83% over 2018).
“Increased property tax receipts are leading to significant enhancements in the schools and education systems of our gas and oil producing counties while also helping fund critical county government operations,” said Blankenship.
Oil and natural gas property tax assessments are based on the production and pricing of the resources from the tax year two years prior. Property tax assessments for 2019 are based on the production and pricing levels which were realized in 2017. To access the list of 2019 county oil/gas property tax information, click here.
In addition to production-based property tax receipts, gas producing counties receive significant funding from property taxes on other industry segments, like pipelines, compressor stations, and extraction and fractionation facilities. These property tax collections are separate from and in addition to the severance tax, which generated $138 million in fiscal year 2018 and $200 million in fiscal year 2019.
For additional information, contact Anne Blankenship at (304) 343-1609.
