Hagan blasts ‘real failure of government’
COLUMBUS
State Rep. Robert F. Hagan of Youngstown, D-60th, today expressed outrage with a recent news report that Ohio’s oil and gas companies are paying taxes on the extraction of the natural resources based on an honor system.
The report, published Monday in The Vindicator, cited at least a $3 million discrepancy for 2010 in what was collected by the Ohio Department of Taxation and what was reported by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and the Ohio Oil and Gas Association.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Hagan said. “This is a real failure of government. It is all too apparent now that the Department of Taxation and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources give the oil and gas industry a free pass to write a tax check to the state based on what they think is fair.”
Hagan likened the system to allowing the general public to decide how much they should pay in taxes.
“I have a proposal that I think is fair,” he said. “Let’s put Ohio taxpayers on the same playing field as the oil and gas companies. We should let Ohio taxpayers file an income tax return based on the honor system. We will take Ohioans for their word on what kind of money they make, just as we currently do with oil and gas drillers.”
Hagan then slammed ODNR’s regulatory authority.
“It’s about time ODNR does its job and actually starts regulating oil and gas companies in this state,” Hagan said. “Implement rules to govern the actual natural resource extraction. Measure it. I mean get real. It’s beyond outrage — it’s laughable.”
The full news article can be found here http://www.vindy.com/news/2012/feb/06/discrepancies-run-deep-with-ohio-well-ta/
Comments
Lets get real. The state income tax should be raised to 10% for everyone. Ohio needs the revenue. With cheap natural gas in abundance a conservation tax of four dollars per thousand cubic feet could pay for its environmental impact. Right now we could start with a dollar a gallon environmental impact tax on gasoline and diesel fuel also. Cheap fuel and loss of revenue will be our demise if we don't act in a timely manner.
Every once in a while someone kicks over that rock underwhich Pizza Face lives. Please put this idiot out of his misery.
Isn't Hagan part of the "government" that he's talking about? What has he done since he's been in office to correct this (and many other) problems??
Sounds like this is brand new news to the 3rd term representative.. Just another example of how govt. makes things so confusing that not even they know the rules...
Bobby is the failure and you fools keep voting for him.
Slow news day for Bob I guess.
Bob Hagan is more in tune with the needs of the people than Kasich. The election of 2014 would put Bob in the Governor's Mansion if he desires to run.
Let's take a poll on who is more out of tune, STOP or Hagan. Why was there no outrage by Hagan when so many of Obama's appointees were found to have not paid their taxes. Oh by the way that is a crime. Hagan has no proof that these companies did anything wrong, just arrogant indignation that he believes will be popular with the voters. Couldn't agree more with the posters here that point out that Hagan has never solved a problem. Can't believe anyone ever voted for this klutz.
Someone should tell Buckwheat that, with the manner the state and federal income tax systems are set up to be filed, are voluntary tax systems. If this were not the case, we would have no worry about being audited. This is one of the reason the feds set up the system of 1099 forms so they could better monitor the income of the population so that everyone would pay "their fair share".
Now, IMHO, there is a real opportunity for the state of Ohio to overhaul the school funding problem finally. Since the oil and gas is underground in our state, there should be a way to tax the resources and use the funds to fund a good protion of the schools in our state. This would be one way to alleviate the reliance on property taxes. I would also include the taxes from all public utilities in the pot. From the amounts of oil and gas they are talking about, this could be a partial solution.