H.R. 1 returned the onshore oil and gas royalty rate for leases back to 12.5% after it was raised during the Biden administration to 16.67%. Taxpayers for Common Sense says the lower rate is less than what states and private interests charge and estimates that it will result in a $57 million loss in revenue from royalty on lifetime production from the leases sold this week, when compared to what the higher rate would have generated…

Taxpayers for Common Sense says a third of the leased acres in this week’s sale were sold at the $10-per-acre minimum bid. It calls that “further evidence that industry interest is driven by factors like production potential and global oil prices, not leasing terms — and taxpayers should not be asked to pay for needless industry giveaways (like below-market royalty rates).”