Describe severance taxes

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

An ideal response would be:
In several states, severance taxes have been a key source of revenue. These are taxes on the privilege of "severing," or removing from the land, such natural resources as coal, oil, timber, and natural gas. In the nation as a whole, severance taxes account for only slightly more than 1 percent of all state taxes but a few states rely heavily on them. Severance taxes are the main tax source in Alaska, where they make up more than 50 percent of tax collections, and Wyoming (46 percent), New Mexico, Montana, North Dakota, and Oklahoma also get more than 10 percent of their tax revenue from the severance tax. Although 35 states have some type of severance tax, significant revenues from it are not available to most because they do not produce large amounts of natural resources. Tax revenues from severance taxes go up and down with the price of oil, gas, and coal. The state and local taxes described here do not begin to exhaust the kinds of taxes collected by state and local governments. Admission taxes, stock transfer taxes, inheritance taxes, pari-mutuel taxes, and taxes on utilities and insurance are also common.