While Pennsylvania legislators and PA Gov. Tom Wolf work to finish up the four-month-late state budget, the issue of whether or not to enact a severance tax to help pay for Harrisburg’s wild overspending is still alive. We think it’s mostly dead, but the severance tax keeps coming back to life like a zombie in a B horror flick. The latest incarnation comes from a Republican in Name Only (RINO), Gene DiGirolamo, a Philadelphia area member of the PA House. As we previously reported, DiGirolamo’s House Bill (HB) 1401 would slap a 3.2% severance tax on top of the existing impact tax, which is the equivalent of a 5%+ severance tax already (see PA Frankenstein House Bill Merges Severance Tax & Minimum Royalty). It’s obscene. The bill was reported out of committee and went to the full House for a vote, but the bill is now suffocating under the load of more than 350 amendments. We think (and hope) it’s dead–but again, you never know. The Pennsylvania Independent Oil & Gas Association (PIOGA) was tired of reading the half-truths and outright lies by severance tax supporters like DiGirolamo, so they composed and sent a letter to all members of the PA House. The letter sets the record straight, refuting the lies spread about the severance tax and the drilling industry. It is a devastating letter that MDN subscribers need to read…
While Pennsylvania legislators and PA Gov. Tom Wolf work to finish up the four-month-late state budget, the issue of whether or not to enact a severance tax to help pay for Harrisburg’s wild overspending is still alive. We think it’s mostly dead, but the severance tax keeps coming back to life like a zombie in a B horror flick. The latest incarnation comes from a Republican in Name Only (RINO), Gene DiGirolamo, a Philadelphia area member of the PA House. As we previously reported, DiGirolamo’s House Bill (HB) 1401 would slap a 3.2% severance tax on top of the existing impact tax, which is the equivalent of a 5%+ severance tax already (see 