The development and growth of the natural gas industry has been a boon for Pennsylvania's economy. The industry has directly and indirectly created more than 100,000 new jobs; helped keep costs down for consumers; and contributed hundreds of millions of dollars to state and local government tax coffers. Yet, politicians continue to propose new taxes on the industry.
Bad Investments Won't Restore PA
Governor Wolf’s Restore PA plan utilizes a natural gas severance tax and borrowing to fund infrastructure improvements. There’s a better way to improve our infrastructure.
Lessons from Fracking's Borderlines
New Yorkers shouldn’t have to eye secession to tap the riches beneath their feet. Pennsylvanians shouldn’t have to worry that taxes and regulations will drive away opportunity and raise energy prices. Both states should remind the nation that prosperity is always vulnerable to the heavy hand of government.
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Will Lawmakers Renege on 'No Broad-Based Taxes' Pledge?
As lawmakers scramble to find revenue to fund the $1.6 billion spending increase they passed last week, a broad-based tax increase, once deemed “off the table,” is in play.
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Governor Wolf's Natural Gas Tax Proposal
Governor Wolf continues to press for a natural gas severance tax despite ongoing layoffs and potential bankruptcies in the natural gas industry.
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Governor Wolf's Proposed Natural Gas Extraction Tax
Gov. Tom Wolf proposed a new severance tax on natural gas extraction, which he claims will generate more than $1 billion annually for public schools. The proposal fails to consider the energy tax’s impact on employment and utility prices. Moreover, it fails to account for what gas drillers already pay in taxes, fees, and royalties to landowners.
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Truth Lacking on 'Schools That Teach' Tour
Gov. Wolf’s 'Schools That Teach' public relations tour and statewide ad campaigns supporting him aren’t telling voters the truth about the budget impasse or the governor's tax proposal.
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Gas Tax Critics Champion, not Oppose, Progress
Recently, Gov. Tom Wolf sent a letter to 17 business advocacy groups opposing his proposed severance tax on natural gas, accusing them of siding “with corporate special interests who simply seek to oppose progress and real economic development.” The irony is, the chief proponents of the severance tax are government union special interests looking for a cut of Pennsylvania’s productive natural gas industry.
Read More >Testimony: Natural Gas Tax Costs Jobs, Threatens Family Budgets
Today, Commonwealth Foundation Vice President of Policy Analysis Nathan Benefield will testify before the Senate Environmental Resources Energy Committee and Senate Finance Committee on the impact of Gov. Wolf’s proposed natural gas severance tax.
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Natural Gas Severance Tax
A severance tax must be considered in light of the state’s total tax structure. Pennsylvania taxes the natural gas industry in many ways that don’t exist in other drilling states. For example, there is no corporate income tax or personal income tax in Texas or Wyoming, and the corporate income tax in West Virginia is 6.5%, compared to Pennsylvania’s 9.99% rate.
Read More >Wolf’s Gas Tax Won’t Help Students, but Will Kill Their Job Opportunities
Today, Governor Wolf unveiled his plan to impose a natural gas severance tax on Pennsylvania’s most promising industry to boost funding for public schools. He, unfortunately, rehashed disproven campaign rhetoric on a mythical $3 billion in education funding cuts under his predecessor Gov. Corbett to justify his plan.
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Shale Gas Fuels Pennsylvania Job Growth
It’s indisputable that where there is Marcellus shale drilling there has been robust economic growth. Over the past six years, Pennsylvania counties with Marcellus shale drilling led the state in job growth along with growth in workers’ wages.
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