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Corbett administration won’t ‘rule out’ gas tax this year
Speaking with reporters after the press conference, Corbett’s Budget Secretary, Charles Zogby, was clear that raising taxes on drillers is still on the table.“There’s multiple options we can look at,” he said. “I’m not ruling out a severance tax.”
Kaufer Calls
for Bold Leadership to Pass On-Time, Balanced State Budget
State
House candidate Aaron Kaufer urges Governor Tom Corbett to pass a severance
tax to
balance the state budget and provide additional funding for public education.
KINGSTON, PA – State House
candidate Aaron Kaufer today issued a statement calling on Governor Tom Corbett
to provide bold leadership and pass a reasonable severance tax on the natural
gas industry to help balance the state budget and provide more funding for
public education.
“In order to secure a
prosperous future for Pennsylvania and our children, I believe it is critical
to enact a reasonable severance tax, like is already done in neighboring
states, on natural gas drilling to help address the budget shortfall,” Kaufer
said. “In addition, this revenue will enable the state to meet its obligation
to fully fund the educational needs of our children and should keep school property
taxes in check before legislation can be passed to eliminate them.”
Although Kaufer does not
think raising taxes should ever be the first option to meet a budget shortfall,
he knows from going door-to-door to thousands of local residents that middle class
families and seniors cannot afford to pay more. He also believes our state must
remain competitive in attracting good paying energy jobs to Pennsylvania so
this severance tax can’t be higher compared to surrounding states.
“In doing so, it is important
to consider a few key principles,” Kaufer said. “Pennsylvania must continue to
cut wasteful government spending to protect taxpayers. In addition, our state already
has the highest taxes on established businesses because of both the corporate
net income tax and the capital stock and franchise tax that these companies are
required to pay in our state. A reasonable tax on Marcellus Shale drilling can
ensure drillers are paying a fair share for the natural resources they are
extracting from the Commonwealth while enabling the industry to continue to thrive
within our borders.”
He is a little late on this as his opponent Democrat Eileen Cipriani and Dem Guv candidate Tom Wolf have long favored an extration tax.
Marcellus Shale
Pennsylvania is the only state in the country that does not tax natural gas, yet it is home to one of the largest natural gas formations in the world, the Marcellus Shale. Pennsylvanians are essentially giving away our natural resource.
While Governor Corbett instituted a local impact fee, the fees collected are only a fraction of what the citizens of Pennsylvania would receive if we enacted a severance tax like other gas producing states have done.
Experts say a 5% severance tax will yield $720 million in its first year, which can be used to fund education and protecting our environment. It is time we made the gas drilling companies pay their fair share and put Pennsylvanians first!
