The backer of a failed attempt to lower tax rates for oil companies says he was trying to close a loophole that still needs addressing.
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BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) - The backer of a failed attempt to lower tax rates for oil companies says he was trying to close a loophole that still needs addressing.
Senator Dwight Cook chairs the Senate Finance and Taxation Committee and crafted a tax restructuring bill that the House killed Thursday.
It previously had passed the Senate.
The Mandan Republican says he's ``disappointed'' the bill was killed because he was trying to bring tax certainty to the oil industry and the state.
The proposal in part would have cut the exemption for so-called stripper wells that the state Tax Department says is costing North Dakota about $50 million in annual revenue.
Both parties are critical of the exemption but no one has introduced legislation this session aimed at that issue alone.
(Photo Credit: ND Legislature)
AP