Louisiana failed to collect millions in oil and gas taxes

Source: NOLA.com / The Times Picayune

Louisiana missed out on millions of dollars in oil and gas extraction taxes from 2009 to 2012 due a faulty collection and refund process at the Department of Revenue.

The Louisiana Legislative Auditor's Office found several problems with the state's monitoring and refunding of the severance tax, which is levied on natural resources removed from the ground or water.

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The Department of Revenue used to have an automated system that would flag companies who had not paid severance tax and send them a bill from the state. In 2009 and 2010, this system sent out notices for $11.9 million worth of unaccounted taxes.

But the program was shutdown in September 2010 because of complaints that it was sending erroneous notices. Without a computer program in place, the Department of Revenue had been relying on audits, which track far fewer companies, to catch those who had not paid severance taxes.

Read more: http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2013/12/louisiana_oil_and_gas_taxes.html#incart_m-rpt-2

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So Louisiana stopped collecting the proper amount of tax and then over-refunded oil and gas firms.

"Bobby" Jindal is really earning those campaign contributions...

"A consortium of local environmental groups on Wednesday charged that Gov. Bobby Jindal's receipt of more than $1 million in political contributions from the oil and gas industry is behind his opposition of a lawsuit against the industry aimed at getting them to restore coastal wetland damage."

http://www.nola.com/environment/index.ssf/2013/08/environmental_groups_say_jinda.html