Pursue Energy Corp. v. MS. STATE TAX COM'N

968 So. 2d 368, 170 Oil & Gas Rep. 366, 2007 Miss. LEXIS 529, 2007 WL 2729016
CourtMississippi Supreme Court
DecidedSeptember 20, 2007
Docket2006-CA-01390-SCT
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 968 So. 2d 368 (Pursue Energy Corp. v. MS. STATE TAX COM'N) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Mississippi Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Pursue Energy Corp. v. MS. STATE TAX COM'N, 968 So. 2d 368, 170 Oil & Gas Rep. 366, 2007 Miss. LEXIS 529, 2007 WL 2729016 (Mich. 2007).

Opinion

968 So.2d 368 (2007)

PURSUE ENERGY CORPORATION
v.
MISSISSIPPI STATE TAX COMMISSION.

No. 2006-CA-01390-SCT.

Supreme Court of Mississippi.

September 20, 2007.
Rehearing Denied November 29, 2007.

*369 James T. Knight, C. Glen Bush, Ridgeland, attorneys for appellant.

Office of the Attorney General by William F. Blair, Troy Farrell Odom, Geoffrey C. Morgan, Gary Wood Stringer, attorneys for appellee.

Before DIAZ, P.J., CARLSON and RANDOLPH, JJ.

CARLSON, Justice, for the Court.

¶ 1. The Rankin County Chancery Court, Chancellor Thomas L. Zebert presiding, granted summary judgment in favor of the Mississippi State Tax Commission (MSTC) and against Pursue Energy Corporation, holding that Pursue owed the State of Mississippi a use tax for gas it used and consumed in its operations. From this grant of summary judgment, Pursue appealed to this Court. Finding no error, we affirm.

FACTS AND PROCEEDINGS IN THE TRIAL COURT

¶ 2. The facts were very ably set out by the chancellor in his Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law:

Pursue operates a number of sour gas wells in the Thomasville Field, located in Rankin and Simpson Counties, Mississippi. The gas requires processing to remove hydrogen sulfide ("sour gas") before it can be sold. Pursue owns the gas wells, the pipelines, and the plant at which the hydrogen sulfide is removed. Pursue processes the sour gas to remove the hydrogen sulfide. From the clean gas available at the tailgate of the plant ("Residue Gas"), most of the processes [sic] gas is sold; however, Pursue uses a portion of the processed gas for plant fuel ("Plant Fuel") and as fuel to run its lease equipment at the well sites, ("Lease Fuel").
Pursue first began operations in the Thomasville Field in the late 1970's. Initially, Pursue purchased Plant Fuel and Lease Fuel from Shell Oil Company ("Shell"). Shell paid sales tax to the State of Mississippi on the gas Shell sold Pursue.
In 1995, Pursue purchased the Shell wells and plant ("Shell Plant"). Thereafter, Pursue began using its own processed gas for Plant Fuel and Lease Fuel. However, Pursue does not pay use tax to the State of Mississippi on the use of the processed gas, even though it is believed to be required to under state law.
Pursue removes certain volumes of processed gas at the tailgate of the Shell Plant for its plant and lease fuel operations. For income tax, plant processing *370 charges, royalty owner payment purposes, and severance tax deductions, Pursue values this volume based upon the average price per MCF Pursue receives for the Residue Gas it sells to third parties at the plant tailgate. Pursue pays royalties on the Residue Gas used for Plant Fuel and Lease Fuel to its royalty owners and books it as income to the company. Pursue then deducts that same value as an expense to the plant, and charges its royalty owners the same amount as part of its processing fee. Pursue also deducts that value from its severance taxes as an expense to the owners to process the gas as if it were purchasing the gas from a third party.
In 2001, the Commission audited Pursue to determine use tax liability for the gas used by Pursue. The Court reviewed the March 15, 2001, Summary of tax [sic] Audit, attached to Memorandum Brief in support of Motion for Summary Judgment as Exhibit "A". This audit covered the period of time from October 1, 1997, through September 30, 2000. Pursuant to the audit, the Commission determined that Pursue owed $354,674.00 in use taxes, penalties and interest.
On or about March 15, 2001, the Commission issued as (sic) assessment against Pursue for $312,988.00.[[1]] Copy of Assessment was attached to Memorandum Brief in support of Motion for Summary Judgment and marked Exhibit "B".
On March 23, 2001, Pursue appealed the assessment to the Commission's Board of Review. On August 28, 2001, the Board of Review upheld the use tax assessment. The Order of the Board of Review was attached to Memorandum Brief in support of Summary Judgment marked as Exhibit "C".
On September 5, 2001, Pursue appealed the Board of Review's decision to the full Commission. On February 13, 2002, the Commission issued its Order, upholding the original assessment. See Order of the Commission, attached to Memorandum Brief in support of Motion for Summary Judgment marked as Exhibit "D". The Commission held:
[w]ithdrawal of such gas would give rise to sales proceeds under Miss. Code Ann. § 27-65-3(h)[[2]] and would subject such activity to Mississippi Sales Tax under Miss.Code Ann. § 27-65-19. The subsequent use of said natural gas by the taxpayer gives rise to a use tax at the same tax rates as set out under Miss.Code Ann. § 27-65-19 for the sale of such natural gas since the withdrawal of such gas has not been included in the measure of a Mississippi Sales tax under Miss.Code Ann. § 27-65-19.
The Commission assessed $353,203.00 for taxes, penalties, and interest. Pursue subsequently paid the full amount of the assessment. However, rather than appeal the full Commission's ruling to the Chancery court [sic] of Rankin County, Mississippi, Pursue filed for *371 Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on September 20, 2002. Because the assessment was fully adjudicated by the Commission, and the delinquent amount paid in full, the Bankruptcy Court was without jurisdiction to determine any further appeal by Pursue.[[3]] Finally, on September 14, 2004, Pursue filed its appeal in this Court.[[4]]

¶ 3. On February 23, 2006, the Commission filed a Motion for Summary Judgment, including a Memorandum in Support of Motion for Summary Judgment. The Memorandum included the partial deposition of Jeff Brasher (Brasher), Pursue's Revenue Accounting Manager. On April 5, 2006, the Commission filed a Motion to Compel. Pursue then filed its own Motion for Summary Judgment on May 12, 2006.

¶ 4. On May 15, 2006, the chancellor conducted a hearing on the Commission's Motion for Summary Judgment.[5] On May 16, 2006, the Commission filed a Motion to Supplement the Record for its Motion for Summary Judgment. On June 14, 2006, the chancellor entered an Order Granting Motion to Supplement Record and allowed the Commission to supplement Brasher's entire deposition rather than his partial deposition. Also, the chancellor entered his Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law for Summary Judgment on June 14, 2006, concluding:

The Mississippi Use Tax Law to this Court is clear and unambiguous. All personal property used or consumed within the state is taxable if sales tax has not already been collected. Natural gas is such a personal property. There is no requirement for a "sale" within the traditional definition of an exchange of property for monetary consideration.

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968 So. 2d 368, 170 Oil & Gas Rep. 366, 2007 Miss. LEXIS 529, 2007 WL 2729016, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/pursue-energy-corp-v-ms-state-tax-comn-miss-2007.