- Pennsylvania Among 'Terrible 10' Most Regressive Tax States
- February 4 Non-Partisan Training: HOW TO RUN FOR ELECTION BOARD IN 2013: HOW TO RUN FOR COMMITTEEPERSON IN 2014
- Republican Governors Opt-In to Medicaid Expansion
- The Reports of Unions' Death Are Greatly Exaggerated
- Ask Allyson Schwartz to run for Governor
- Mind the gap: Opting Out of Medicaid Expansion Leaves Low-income Families Behind
- Jan. 14 Workshop:HOW TO RUN FOR ELECTION BOARD IN 2013; HOW TO RUN FOR COMMITTEEPERSON IN 2014
- Seth Williams on Guns, Jasmine Rivera on School Closures @PFC Meetup Wednesday
- PA Revenue Strong Midway Through Year; Tax Cut Could Have Big Impact
- What to Make of the Fiscal Cliff Deal?
A Hundred Million Dollars Lost to Legislative Inaction on Severance Tax
Submitted by pennbpc on Thu, 10/21/2010 - 5:37pm.
Governor Ed Rendell made headlines across the state today with his announcement that efforts to enact a natural gas severance tax are "clearly dead" for the year. Good news for the natural gas industry; bad news for the people of Pennsylvania.
How bad? The Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center has been tracking in real-time the amount of severance tax revenue lost since October 1, 2009 by not having a tax in place. This weekend, the Severance Tax Ticker will hit $100 million!
That's $100 million that could have gone to protecting the environment in the Marcellus Shale region of the state and reimbursing local communities for some of the increased drilling-related costs they're incurring - things like road and bridge damage caused by heavy truck traffic and increased emergency response calls. Severance tax revenue could have prevented some of the cuts we've seen to early childhood programs, libraries and domestic violence shelters in the wake of the state's recession-driven revenue crisis.
The Legislature promised as part of last summer's state budget agreement to enact a severance tax by October 1, but state Senate leaders spent the fall session throwing up obstacle after obstacle to getting the job done. In the end, they adjourned without taking up the bill - putting the interests of out-of-state drillers like Exxon Mobil and Shell ahead of the interests of Pennsylvania communities.
Wednesday night: Enviro GOTV Phonebank!
http://www.conservepennsylvania.org/environmental-phone-bank-october-27/
Environmental Phone Bank – October 27
The best defense for Pennsylvania’s environment is an active and engaged population. With new gas drilling posing an unprecedented threat to the health and safety of the Commonwealth, it’s never been more important for people who care about the environment to get out and vote. On Wednesday, October 27, environmentalists and conservationists from across Pennsylvania will contact thousands of citizens to ensure that environmental voices are heard on Election Day.
Once you’ve signed up, we’ll email you call-in information for a special phone bank provided by our friends at Penn Action. You call a 1-800 number and put into a conference call where we’ll give you the information you need to be successful. Then, you’ll be automatically and immediately connected to potential voters who have been selected because they’re the most likely to care about the environment. No wrong numbers, no mis-dials, no charges – it’s as free, as easy and as effective as can be.
With only a few days left until the election, this is one way for you to make a real difference.
From
From voteonorato.com
(http://www.voteonorato.com/media/press_releases/2010-09-onorato-accepts-...)
"Onorato backs a competitive severance tax on Marcellus shale drilling – just like all other major gas-producing states – and he would use the proceeds to fund enforcement by the Department of Environmental Protection, to help local communities address the impact of drilling on their roads and other services, and to pay for the renewal of Growing Greener – the state’s major environmental conservation and preservation programs.
"A May report by Common Cause Pennsylvania revealed that Corbett is the #1 Pennsylvania recipient of contributions from the gas industry over the last decade. The oil and gas industry also helped save Corbett’s political career during his initial tight race for Attorney General in 2004. At the time, Corbett refused to reveal the source of nearly a half-million dollars funneled through the Republican State Leadership Committee, but campaign finance filings later made clear that the bulk of it was from the CEO of an Oklahoma oil-and-gas company.
"Corbett opposes a severance tax, so that the oil and gas industry can evade its responsibility to taxpayers and force residents and other businesses to bear the costs of drilling. Even Corbett’s allies in the Senate Republican caucus have agreed to enact a severance tax, putting Corbett in the extreme wing of his party."