A. There is levied and shall be collected by the department a privilege tax on processors for the privilege of operating a natural gas processing plant in New Mexico. This tax may be referred to as the "natural gas processors tax".
B. The tax shall be imposed on the amount of mmbtus of natural gas delivered to the processor at the inlet of the natural gas processing plant after subtracting the mmbtu deductions authorized in Subsection D of this section. The tax shall be imposed at the rate per mmbtu determined in Subsection C of this section.
C. The tax rate shall be determined by multiplying the rate of sixty-five hundredths of one cent ($.0065) per mmbtu by a fraction, the numerator of which is the annual average taxable value per mcf of natural gas produced in New Mexico during the preceding calendar year and the denominator of which is one dollar thirty-three cents ($1.33) per mcf. The resulting tax rate shall be rounded to the nearest one-hundredth of one cent per mmbtu.
D. A processor may deduct from the amount of mmbtus of natural gas subject to the tax the mmbtus of natural gas that are:
(1) used for natural gas processing by the processor;
(2) returned to the lease from which they are produced;
(3) legally flared by the processor; or
(4) lost as a result of natural gas processing plant malfunctions or other incidences of force majeur.
E. On or before June 15 of each year, the department shall inform each processor in writing of the tax rate applicable for the succeeding fiscal year.
F. Any Indian nation, tribe or pueblo or Indian is liable for the tax to the extent authorized or permitted by law.