Geo Resources, Inc. v. Tax Commissioner

PEDERSON, Justice.

This is an appeal by Geo Resources, Inc., from a decision of the district court which affirmed the decision of the tax commissioner that leonardite is coal for the purposes of the coal severance tax. We affirm.

Geo Resources, Inc., mines and markets a substance known in North Dakota as “leo-nardite.” In September 1976, the tax commissioner gave notice requiring Geo Resources to file quarterly coal severance tax reports and to pay coal severance taxes on the leonardite it mined. Geo Resources responded with the statement: “No coal severed during this reporting period. The…