Pennsylvanians deserve to have all the facts and information regarding the administration’s misleading — and outright false — energy tax claims that were outlined in a July 29 op-ed (“Wolf: State Republicans Ignoring the Will of the People”).
While the administration suggests a willingness to offer concessions for even higher energy taxes, those allowances did not include revenue adjustments to support their alternative approaches, and continue to falsely claim that more than $1 billion of tax revenue will be generated from Pennsylvania’s shale gas industry to fund education. The fact is much of the revenues from Wolf’s higher energy tax proposal will be reinvested to support wind and solar projects and making government bigger by beefing up funding for state agencies.
Additionally, Pennsylvania’s current natural gas impact tax has generated more than $850 million for local communities since 2012. In fact, McKean County has received nearly $4.1 million in natural gas impact taxes for use on local infrastructure and community betterment projects, to name a few. Yet, despite these clear local benefits, plans for even higher energy taxes directly jeopardize the future of this critical local revenue source by sending the funds back to Harrisburg for redistribution and not likely benefiting McKean County.
Make no mistake, the Commonwealth cannot afford a massive energy tax increase that will cost Pennsylvania jobs and jeopardize shale’s broad consumer and manufacturing benefits. If we get the energy equation right and encourage continued responsible shale development, we can ensure prosperity for all Pennsylvanians.
Erica Clayton Wright
Marcellus Shale Coalition
Pittsburgh
