What is the total tax burden that companies are paying? All of the attention has been to the severance tax, but we should do a better job describing what taxes are being paid.

Natural gas development is responsible for more than $1.8 billion in state tax revenue since 2006. These companies paid $420 million in corporate, sales and employee withholding taxes in 2011 – a 77% increase from 2010 ($237 million). In addition, over $200 million in personal income taxes were paid from bonus lease and royalty payments in 2011, while more than 50,000 landowners annually are collecting royalty checks ($400 million in 2011). This is in addition to the $400 million paid by the natural gas industry in impact fees over the past two years (2011/2012)