(a) Upon every person engaging or continuing within this Town in the business of producing for sale, profit or commercial use any natural resource products, the amount of such tax shall be equal to the value of the article produced as shown by the gross proceeds derived from the sale thereof by the producer, except as otherwise provided, multiplied by the respective rates as follows: coal, one percent (1%); limestone or sandstone, quarried or mined, one and fifty one-hundredths percent (1.50 %); oil, three percent (3%); natural gas, in excess of the value of five thousand dollars ($5.000), six percent (6%); blast furnace slag, three percent (3%); sand, gravel or mineral product, not quarried or mined, three percent (3%); timber, one and fifty one-hundredths percent (1.50%); other natural resource products, two percent (2%). The measure of this tax is the value of the entire production in this Town regardless of the place of sale or the fact that the delivery may be made to points outside the Town.
(b) Provided, however, that for the purposes of the production of oil classification and the production of natural gas classification, as set forth in this section, multiple co-owners of oil or natural gas in place, lessees thereof, or others being vested with title and ownership to part or all of the oil and gas as personal property, immediately after severance, extraction, reduction to possession and production, except royalty recipients in kind, shall deemed to be a “group or combination acting as a unit” and one “person”, as defined in Section 763.01, if not otherwise defined therein, whenever engaged in the business of producing oil or natural gas through common use, by joint or separately executed contracts of the same independent contractor, driller or operator’s services, and notwithstanding provisions of private contracts for separate deposit of gross receipts in separate members’ accounts or for members of such group or combination to take in kind any proportionate part of such natural resources.
(c) Lessees, sublessees or other denominated lessees are considered to be producers of all of the oil or natural gas produced, regardless of any payment to lessors, sublessors or other denominated lessors of a part of such natural resources as rents or royalties. Recipients of royalties or rents, in kind, in cash or otherwise are taxable on their gross income pursuant to the provisions of Section 763.10 of this article for the privilege of engaging in the business of furnishing property for hire within this Town.
(d) Persons who produce natural products outside of the Town and who make sale of the same within the Town shall not pay the tax imposed under this section but shall pay the tax imposed by Section 763.05, for the privilege of selling such products within the Town.
(Ord. 2011-2. Passed 1-27-11.)