Four alternative ways of taxing minerals--ad valorem taxes, gross proceeds taxes, net proceeds taxes, and severance taxes--are described and evaluated. Taxes are compared on the bases of ease of administration, social justice, consistency with national economic goals, and revenue adequacy. The gross production tax and the severance tax are the most desirable, with the gross production tax preferred except when the market price of the mineral is difficult to establish. The report also provides summaries of the mineral tax laws as of January 1978 for each of the major mineral-producing States.
