Coal companies owe taxpayers millions - Bundy-type scofflaws

[Panich52]

Coal companies aren't just destroying our land, health, and climate -- they owe us millions of dollars too!

The Powder River Basin in Wyoming and Montana is responsible for 40% of the coal mined in America. But this land that's feeding our nation's dangerous coal-fired power plants is actually owned by taxpayers like you -- and it turns out coal companies owe us a lot of money.

Coal companies are supposed to compensate taxpayers by giving a portion of their sales back to the government. But instead of selling the coal on the open market, coal companies have set up shell corporations so they can sell it themselves at a reduced rate. In fact, the five biggest coal companies in the Powder River Basin have over 556 shell companies through which they funnel the coal to avoid paying fees.[1]

Since the amount coal companies pay the government is based on how much they make from selling the coal, this scheme lets them avoid fairly compensating taxpayers for digging up our resources. As a result, the coal industry is paying just 4.9 percent on the value of coal mined from public lands well below the 12.5 percent royalty rate companies are supposed to pay under federal law for surface mined coal and the 8 percent royalty rate for underground coal.[2]

The Office of Natural Resources Revenue, which is charged with managing revenue from mining federally-owned coal, recently released a plan to put a stop to this injustice and they're taking comments from the very people who own this land -- you.

Current laws make it easy for corporations to exploit unintentional loopholes and avoid paying taxpayers a fair price for taxpayer-owned coal. Coal companies continue to profit while our children get asthma, our water and air turn to poison and super storms threaten our homes. Americans should have a say in how our federal land is used. We can't let industry keep exploiting the rules and taking advantage of our land. Let's make sure they have to pay their fair share!

Take action now to defend our land against Big Coal's abuse!
https://secure.sierraclub.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=15023&autologin=true&s_src=215BCOAN01


References:
1) Ayre, James. (2015, January 13). "Coal Companies Dodging Royalty Payments + Manipulating Government Subsidy Programs By Selling Coal To Themselves, Report Says." CleanTechnica.
http://action.sierraclub.org/site/R?i=wllWoRJmVdFUwMGxh6SkEg

2) Lee, Ashley and Thakar, Nidhi. (2015, January 6). "Cutting Subsidies and Closing Loopholes in the U.S. Department of the Interior's Coal Program." Center for American Progress.
http://action.sierraclub.org/site/R?i=fTc-MA08-_aGp19UFJdRCA

...

[surrealAmerican]

1. This may seem a small point, but ...

... federal land is "owned" by all of us, not just "taxpayers". This includes people who are too poor to pay taxes.

[Panich52]

2. Yep. Shoulda said 'citizens'