Fent Drops Lawsuit Over Gross Production Tax
Attorney drops lawsuit against the state over new drilling tax law
By BARBARA HOBEROCK World Capitol Bureau
OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma City attorney Jerry Fent on Monday dropped one of his lawsuits against the state.
Fent had alleged that a recently enacted law setting a tax rate for some oil and gas wells was unconstitutional.
House Bill 2562 provides for a 2 percent tax rate for all new oil and gas wells for 36 months of production. It applies to vertical and horizontal wells.
The law increases the rate from 1 percent, which had only been applied to horizontal wells. The old rate was set to expire July 1, 2015, resulting in an increase to 7 percent.
Fent claimed the measure was a revenue bill and as such could not have legally been passed during the last week of the legislative session.