Aug 17, 2017 2 min read

We’re disappointed in the continued calls for massive energy tax increases that will be shouldered by consumers and harm Pennsylvania’s economic competitiveness.

Pennsylvania’s natural gas industry already is taxed. Period. The impact tax has generated $1.2 billion in new revenue for communities and critical environmental and conservation programs. Washington County continues to be one of the top recipients, as the county and its municipalities realized nearly $15 million in new revenue this year from this unique tax system.

As a whole, Pennsylvania’s impact tax generated more revenue in 2016 than severance tax programs in Ohio, West Virginia, Colorado and Arkansas, combined. Think about that.

Hard-working Pennsylvania families will bear the burden of additional energy taxes through higher home energy costs, according to Independent Fiscal Office reports. Thanks to natural gas development, consumers throughout the commonwealth have seen their heating bills drop up to 73 percent since 2008 – significant savings, especially for low-income families, that are directly threatened by the Pennsylvania Senate’s proposed tax hikes.

Any revenue plan that includes additional energy taxes for consumers and energy producers alike and will erode the commonwealth’s competitive advantage. While we appreciate the Senate’s acknowledgement of Pennsylvania’s woeful permitting timelines, additional energy taxes in the form of a natural gas severance tax, impact tax, and gross receipts tax will hurt job creators and consumers.

David Spigelmyer

Pittsburgh

Spigelmyer is the president of the Marcellus Shale Coalition.