"Taxpayers are losing billions of dollars in potential revenue from oil and gas drilling on federal lands, according to two reports released this week.
The federal government has lost up to $12.4 billion in revenue from oil and gas drilling from 2010 to 2019, an analysis from Taxpayers for Common Sense said, citing "grossly outdated" royalty rates that have not been updated for onshore production since 1920.
The second report, from the Denver-based Center for Western Priorities, said taxpayers could have received more than $10 billion in royalties over the last five years with higher royalty rates — echoing TCS' call to reform the laws surrounding oil and gas production on public lands.
Both groups said the current rate of 12.5% for the removal and sale of oil and gas from public lands is too low and should be increased."
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