Mmastodon EnvironmentClimate first seen 2 d ago, last 1 d ago, peak #5

Coal severance tax lessons for Kentucky's data center boom

Original: The coal severance tax was the mountains’ one belated victory over an extractive economy, and even then most of the mone

Commentators are revisiting the coal severance tax, describing it as the Appalachian mountains' one belated victory over an extractive economy, though most of the money went into the state general fund with only a share returned to the counties that had been mined. The argument now is that Kentucky should do better with data centers, imposing a levy on their resource use so affected communities actually benefit rather than watching profits and power flow elsewhere.

Why now: Debates over taxing data centers in Kentucky are drawing direct parallels to the state's coal extraction history.

Kentuckycoal severance taxdata centersAppalachia

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Evidence

• The coal severance tax was the mountains’ one belated victory over an extractive economy, and even then most of the money went into the state general fund, with only a share sent back to the counties that had been mined. KY should do better with data centers. A levy on their… · waltbaldwin@mastodon.energy · 3

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