State Taxation of Energy Production: Regional and National Issues
Among the many aspects of domestic energy policies that have proved divisive, the taxation of energy production by energy-rich states incites especially sharp regional hostilities. Climbing prices of oil and natural gas, along with increasing production of Western coal, have given rise to large wealth flows via energy taxation from energy-consuming regions to energy-producing regions, aggravating existing trends in this direction. Regions that do not fare well from energy taxes harbor resentment against neighbor states, who are perceived as adding insult, if not further damage, to their injuries.
