Gulf Refining Co. v. Stone

By Secs. 1 and 2, Chap. 134, Laws 1944, there is levied an annual privilege tax upon every group', acting as a unit, engaged in the business of producing or severing oil for commercial purposes, the tax being six cents per barrel, or &% of the value, whichever is greater. The severance tax is expressly defined by the Act as a business or occupation tax, and we accept the definition without pause to inquire whether it is rather an excise tax more nearly like an income, or sales, tax., And Sec. l(i) expressly provides further that the taxed activity ‘ ‘ shall include any person owning any…