by Michael J. Marino
Rep. Gary Parry (R-Colstrip) introduced House Bill 454, which would impose a tax on the production of renewable resource electricity in Montana, to the House Taxation Committee on Feb. 17.
If passed, the bill would tax renewable resource producers on a quarterly basis “at a rate of 0.1 cent a kilowatt hour,” according to its first revision. It allocates 50% of the collected tax dollars to the “county renewable resource electrical production impacts account.” The other 50% would be distributed according to severance tax procedures found in Mont. Code Annotated §15-35-108.
Furthermore, producers who fail to pay the tax on time would be liable for three times the amount of the original tax due, and they may even be subject to a court order restraining them from continuing to produce energy until they pay.
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