Today's Radio Smart Talk program dealt with two major issues -- whether Marcellus Shale natural gas should be taxed and the new Act 47 report that makes recommendations on how the City of Harrisburg can become financially solvent.
The latest Quinniapiac University poll found that Pennsylvanians overwhelmingly (69%-24%) support a new tax on Marcellus Shale natural gas extraction. The results are consistent with other polls that indicate the state's residents favor a tax on the gas. Gov. Tom Corbett vowed during his campaign for governor last year, and has maintained, that he will not approve any new taxes -- although Corbett has said he would consider an impact fee that would be directed to local governments for infrastructure improvements and other areas that are affected by drilling.
The Act 47 Recovery Plan for the City of Harrisburg has recommended the city sell assets like parking garages, sell the debt-ridden trash burning incinerator, increase property taxes by 0.8 mills, lay off some city workers, get Dauphin County to contribute $2 million in gaming funds to the city each year, and pursue payments from non-profit property owners in lieu of taxes.
Continue the conversation with your thoughts below.
LISTEN TO PROGRAM:
comments
By the way Gov Corbett said he would not tax them because they would leave the state. That is a lie because a recent sale of thousands of acres for $300 million dollars was recently paid for land in PA. I do not think a gas comp is going to pay that much for land and then leave!
After signing up, you can vote for the proposal that benefits your area the most. So far people overwhelming support HB833, but that figure is constantly changing.
Make your voice heard and check it out today.
They aren't going to do anything they don't have to.
2 minutes of your time will make a big impression.
Taxes/Fees:
1. Tax: Infrastructure impacts - roads, bridges - that cross municipal and county boundaries. YES
2. Extraction Fee: Inspection + testing is required over lifetime of gas extraction. DEP needs additional personnel, equipment + facilities that gas companies (not General Fund) should be paying for.
Gas companies commonly reverse engineer competitors' processes and chemicals. State should demand detailed information about chemicals found in hydro-fracking process. Time-frame makes review of relevant information about water impact and geology from the West and South difficult for citizens who must rely upon company info, rather than critical analysis from independent researchers.
Severance/Extraction Tax - OF COURSE
NO blanket approval !
His argument that taxing the gas companies would have an adverse effect on their ambition to drill in PA is akin to saying that putting a dress on the chickens will have the hungry fox reconsider his desire to get into the henhouse. And he knows it.
A much bigger consideration than a severance tax is the need for an Environmental Impact Study in PA to determine if the mass industrializati on of Penn's Woods will damage our water and sicken Pennsylvanians living and future born.
He could ask the legislature to do this.
He won't, they won't -----because they're bought and paid for.
Corporate greed once again has bested populism in an American State.....nothing new here, is it?
Although this proposal generates more revenue than the prior version of SB1100, revenues sharply decline by 25% after the first year, 33% after the second year and 50% after the third year.
Citizens of this Commonwealth are billed for their gas by the amount they consume. Imagine being told that you could use as much gas as you wanted throughout the year and you only had to pay an annual fee. Gas companies wouldn't accept losing such large amounts of revenue, so why does the Senate think Pennsylvanians should tolerate an all-you-can-produce buffet for gas developers?
Signup today at FrackTrack.org and make your voice count.
None of the shale was created by human beings. The profits derived from shale gas should be shared with the commonwealth.
The best system is in Alaska where the oil profits are shared by each citizen of Alaska.
RSS feed for comments to this post