It is time to eliminate the outrageous subsidies and entitlements for the gas industry

By Tom and Becky Berlin 

WESTON, W.Va. – Here is a little something for all you land owners, farmers, small business owners, and tax payers to think about.

If you own a bit of land for a hay meadow, you will be assessed and pay property taxes on your hay meadow.

If you buy a tractor and some equipment so you can harvest your hay, you will be assessed and pay property taxes on your tractor and equipment.

If you build a barn in which to keep your hay and your farm equipment out of the weather, you will be assessed and pay property taxes on your barn.

If you buy a cow to eat your hay and maybe give you a calf to sell, you will be assessed and pay property taxes on your cow.

Other small businesses are in much the same situation. You pay property taxes on your business property, buildings, equipment, and inventory.

If, on the other hand, you are a huge corporation and you build a multimillion dollar piece of profitable infrastructure, like Momentum and Stonewall Gas Gathering LLC and their newly constructed pipeline, you will not be assessed and will not pay a penny of local property taxes on your pipeline. Nothing.

Even worse, the land under which that multimillion dollar pipeline lies has been forever rendered unproductive. Nobody will ever be able to build a house on that land, build a barn, build a farm pond, drill a water well, grow an orchard, grow timber, cut an access road to the other side of your farm, or make any improvements that might interfere with the pipeline company. For every mile of pipeline right of way that Stonewall Gas Gathering has, they have permanently destroyed the utility and value of about 10 acres of land, which will ultimately show up as decreased property value and decreased tax revenue for the county. If you do not think the property value has declined on that land, survey off an acre of that right of way, put it up for sale and see what the market value is now.

Does that seem fair to you? Speak with your elected representatives and candidates and demand that this outrageous subsidy and entitlement be eliminated.

Tom and Becky Berlin are farmers in Weston, W.Va.

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