March 5, 2026 - West Virginia Delegates passed a bill incrementally lowering metallurgical coal severance taxes.

The tax cut is being considered as metallurgical coal typically used in steel making faces challenging market forces.

“This bill is simple, tries to support our coal miners. This tries to support all of southern West Virginia, a fair piece of northcentral West Virginia. It’s clear that this will help us, and it’s clear that this will begin to diminish some of that disadvantage that we have,” said Delegate Daniel Linville, R-Cabell.

The bill passed 92-1 and now goes to the state Senate.

Current law has a 5% severance tax on the gross value of metallurgical coal. This bill, as it was constructed when the committee first took it up, would have had a stepdown to 4.5% in fiscal 2026, 4% in 2027 and 3.5% in 2028 — but then back up to 5% after 2031.

In dollars, the first year amounts to a roughly $15 million tax cut for metallurgical coal producers. Overall state revenue from severance taxes on metallurgical coal amounts to about $150 million a year, the committee agreed.

The five-year step-down period could amount to about $180 million in forgone severance tax on metallurgical coal.

The tax cut is meant to provide temporary relief to the met coal industry during a difficult market period.

Metallurgical coal is primarily used to produce coke, an essential fuel and carbon source for manufacturing steel in blast furnaces. Demand for that kind of coal has been stable compared to others, particularly internationally, but the sector has faced headwinds.

China has maintained high tariffs on U.S. metallurgical coal, significantly disrupting trade flows. The economic retaliation followed U.S. trade actions, causing a sharp decline in U.S. coal exports to China.

In mid-February, Greenbrier Minerals notified Workforce West Virginia of its decision to conduct a mass layoff at its facility in Lorado, affecting 530 employees.

Overall, West Virginia coal industry officials have said, about 10 mines and about 1000 miners have experienced furloughs because of the current economic situation.

Delegate Shawn Fluharty, D-Ohio, said he would vote for the bill to support coal miners in southern West Virginia. But he said he wanted to explain why the relief is necessary.

“And that’s for the past year there has been a war on coal and it’s from tariffs. That’s a fact,” Fluharty said.

Delegate Mark Zatezalo, R-Hancock, said he doubts tariffs are the problem. Instead, he said the issue derives from global market competition.

“It’s a real issue. Hopefully it’ll get lightened up in the near future,” he said. “But it’s not about tariffs. It’s about competition, and the competition comes from Australia.”

Delegate Ray Canterbury, R-Greenbrier, said the tax cut is necessary right now. But he said projected that the tariffs will be helpful over the longer term.

“Actually, I think that because of the tariffs, in fact, our problem in the steel industry, or the coal industry, may temporary,” he said.

“Because, I think in large part due to the tariffs, we’re seeing a reshoring of the steel industry, and this will, of course, create a larger domestic market for America, our coal.”