(a) Upon every person exercising the privilege of engaging or continuing within this City in the business of severing, extracting, reducing to possession and producing for sale, profit or commercial use any natural resource products, the amount of such tax to be equal to the value of the articles 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:
(1) Coal, one percent (1%).
(2) Limestone or sandstone, quarried or mined, one percent (1%).
(3) Oil, one percent (1%).
(4) Natural gas, in excess of the value of five thousand dollars - two and two- tenths percent (2.2%).
(5) Blast furnace slag, one percent (1%).
(6) Sand, gravel or other mineral product not quarried or mined, one percent (1%).
(7) Timber, one percent (1%).
(8) Other natural resource products, two percent (2%).
(b) The measure of this tax is the value of the entire production in this City, regardless of the place of sale or the fact that the delivery may be made to points outside the State and City. 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 of all of the oil and gas, as personal property, immediately after severance, extraction, reduction to possession and production, except royalty recipients, in kind, shall be deemed to be a "group or combination acting as a unit" and one "person", as (defined in Section 757.01 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, in kind, 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 757.10.
(Passed 4-4-78)