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Coffee County committee votes to adopt higher severance tax rate allowed by state law
Summary
Committee members approved a resolution authorizing the county to raise the severance tax on minerals to 20 cents per ton and asked the county attorney to draft the formal resolution for commission action.
Coffee County's Budget and Finance Committee approved placing a severance-tax increase on the county agenda after the state legislature gave counties the option to raise the tax on extracted minerals.
Commissioners discussed a newly enacted state law (Public Chapter 285, House Bill 695) that allows county legislative bodies to increase the severance tax rate on minerals. The county attorney was asked to draft a resolution adopting the higher rate. Committee members voted to add the severance-tax item to the amended agenda and then voted in favor of adopting the county-level increase to 20 cents per ton, with instructions that the presiding officer deliver a certified copy of the resolution to the Tennessee Department of Revenue.
A finance briefing in the meeting noted the severance-tax revenue in the current budget was approximately $60,000 and that the revenue is earmarked for highway purposes. Commissioners acknowledged the change would generate only modest additional revenue but agreed to pursue the resolution so the county could opt in for the upcoming budget year. The county attorney will prepare the formal resolution for the full commission to consider at the next meeting.
