State energy revenues gushing.

• Position: STATESTATS - Table

A handful of major energy-producing states are reporting a significant rise in 2005 severance tax collections related to the recent up tick in energy prices. States that rely on natural resources for a substantial share of state revenues derive them from both state severance taxes and resource leases on federal lands within their borders.

Severance taxes are excise taxes on natural resources "severed" from the earth. In the majority of states, the taxes are applied to specific industries such as coal or iron mining and natural gas or oil production. They are usually payable by the severer or producer, although in a few states payment is made by the first purchaser.

The leap in resource prices recently has had a noticeable effect on state severance tax collections reported to the Census Bureau. If the first three quarters of 2005 are any indicator, final collections for the year promise to be well above 2004 levels. In 14 states, severance taxes accounted for at least 1 percent of state tax collections in 2004, with Alaska leading the pack. Of those 14 states, 13 reported collections for the first three quarters of 2005 (January through September) that ranged from 91 percent to 135 percent of total 2004 collections. Nationally, severance tax collections in the first three quarters of...