Dispute over Pa. gas drilling fees
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Gov. Tom Corbett’s energy executive is questioning research that says Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale impact fee will generate billions of dollars less in long-term revenue than the same natural gas production in West Virginia.
The Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center made the long-term comparison to what a five percent tax such as West Virginia’s will generate, but Energy Executive Patrick Henderson says the group has a liberal bias.
Henderson says the Pennsylvania fee encourages investment and that “a job for a Pennsylvanian beats enacting a new tax.”
John Hanger, a Democratic candidate for governor and former head of the state Department of Environmental Protection, says Pennsylvania’s impact fee is “ridiculous” and should be more like West Virginia’s tax rate.
The Policy Center says it stands by the research.