The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1905-03-10
IlIn0NONGALIAI WAY
TAKING oil
and GAS
TAX REFORM THAT MEANS
SOMETH|NGfT THE. PEOPLE
sii aI5ilo ON GEo G: A BAKER, OF NOR.
y: :!:;As AsNTloy,N, NJ lscussEs a CUES.
Il ION oFsslV VlTALs INTEREST
to- n HEj5 TAXPAYERS Il AND sclTi.
s3ss8s; izENs oFssTHE STATE, OF
sRs; Ss3 WEST RGlN,A. i

WEST VIRGINIA. All. i
Morgantown, VIVA, Mar. 10.
Editors West yirginian: ILL
yeS are Il now entering upon a new
year, when naturally the question OF
taXationEwil be again raised 8 for the
81; SCISSORS Of the county within: the
next few days will begin to take their
icnn1tai5 trip to see each citizen and
:si|staxS payer of the county. 535 h. C. , 4,
The subject Of taxing oil and gas
ass invest Virginia, as well as its pres.
3s8ss.serya 38ss tion. is one Of such general and
universal public interest to the hum.
S best and highest citizen. 1.-THE State.
that ask leave of you to express my.
ls8self4 eff through the columns Of your
cellent paper, as to the taxation Of
t'soll Oil and gas companies and corpora
tions In our State. Al +,
desire to call attention 10 two
bjects iof taxations.as against tho
Z sSsSo: and gas companies. First, as to
ssSta%.ns WHAT'S known as their "fx.
ttires ~ That is to say, the derricl,
boiler, 4, engine, tubing, casing, etc,
(which are necessary for each oil and
$5s;sa well either drilling or drilled in
81 lis county.
pom examining the records of our
II county court, n find that the oil and
companies and corporations in
gsfs this Il county, (and no doubt II is tho
s8same in almost all the other counties
s$sofs he State) /, are paying either no taS
5-fsE whatsoever upon their fixtures or, IL
they are paying any tax. 1t IS posi-.
saib w one 6or two hundred dollars sim.
s8ss upon their boilers or engines, but
Sssas e rule they are paying none. For.
VIZ tl!urllately for the State, our Supreme
3$%,G GourtS has decided that these fixtures.
.3;1! 1to:wlt the tubing, casing, ETC., which
fSareS in the ground in some, wells as
lssideenSass three thousand feet. (allhough
they are fastened into the ground
ftsFtieepeTH than any foundation to u
h;1utldins) are not real estate but arc
personal property, and as such SHOULD
;,s I behaved Y ton the personal property
his books;t$ .G See Carter " Tyler County
Court Viva, SOG
his decision means great deal 10
citizens of the State. Willie oil
land $gas have escaped taxation entire
ss5ly In our county (and so far as 1 can
llsarnSin5 y he2wholef OF West virginia),
4 have the law settled and deter:
mined by our Supreme Court that, al.
5sleastswe can compel the oil and gas
.apanies to pay taxes upon their
%tnres ,H's4.;"thers tubing and casing.
s etiyS:enfif the latter are three thousand
tin the ground. When we come
ssg,t 70 "a x hinlSo the number of wells in
Ss!2s tonpngalia county and OF the great
Ia lre this decision is to!the ::Sx pay.
erss iti will sbe startling, Wien you
# INA ma ie "a calculation, and rin;l what
~ amount Of taxes will necessarily
Il ,coi20 into the hands of ouc sheriff, as
public treasurer Of the county. *;
he Supreme Court decides that
elsh hundred dollars per well for
cs fixtures was reasonable valua.
ton on them. That assessment was
.sSiaade at "a time when. by common
~ consent, valuations were returned
81 g rom one third TO one.half Of the true
sssa alue, for, It is a'well known fact that
5sSlheS casing, tubing, boiler, engine. der.
ri re ck, ropes and tools at each we'll cost
AZ sieast; from two thousand to twenty.
live hundred dollars. Under our
ssi,rsesent law, where valuations are to
M placed at the high tide notch as
s5ss against the corporation. as well as
asatnst the individual, suppose we
3 ~ ere; to even tax. in this county, the
sS fixtures at each Of the oil and gas
wells one thousand dollars per well,
what would be the result?5 We, have
SIN lrl This county, no doubt. at least five
IL hundred oil and gas wells, and 1t may!
s:reae b twice that limit. / know Of two
lar ers In this county alone who
s5 aEe4 some seyenty.flye wells drilled
;ssonst theirst@o farms: but even putting
IL 4. low as FIVE hundred wells III.
the county, at Jay thousand doliRrss per
well for the fixtures alone, ii smeansf
I'VE hundred Thousand dollars for one
sse;1is for for taxa ton; but the iobabils
Continued on Fifth Pase.)