An April 3 column (“Forward Thinking: The Case for an Extraction Tax”) fundamentally fails to recognize the potentially economically devastating impact that higher energy taxes could have on the commonwealth’s small business and organized labor community as well local governments.
Thanks to responsible shale development, thousands of Pennsylvanians are now working in family-supporting careers, our manufacturers are experiencing a renaissance, local small businesses and building trades are thriving and families are realizing huge energy savings.
But proposals for even higher energy taxes risk these benefits. If higher energy taxes become a reality, capital investment — along with good-paying jobs and opportunity — will be driven away from Pennsylvania.
And while the column claims that higher energy taxes will close Pennsylvania’s billion-dollar deficit, national and regional media — including the Associated Press — along with other independent experts have thoroughly debunked that baseless claim, noting that such revenue projections have been wildly overstated.
Pennsylvanians across the political spectrum, when given a choice between higher energy taxes and jobs, chose jobs. Policymakers in Harrisburg must focus on creating opportunity for all, not driving it away.
John Augustine
Marcellus Shale Coalition
Mountaintop, Pa.
NOTE: Click HERE to view this letter online.
