Taxation

Electrical Generation | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA | Taxation

Commonwealth Court Sides with PA Lawmakers on RGGI Carbon Tax
January 23, 2023January 23, 2023

Last Thursday, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court dismissed the Dept. of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) claim that the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), an obscene carbon tax on gas-fired power plants being forced on PA businesses (and electricity consumers) by former Gov. Tom Wolf and his henchman DEP Secretary Pat McDonnell, was unlawfully delayed by the PA Senate. It is a good news/bad news decision.
Read More “Commonwealth Court Sides with PA Lawmakers on RGGI Carbon Tax”
Electrical Generation | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA | Taxation

PA Republicans Urge New Gov. Shapiro to Repeal RGGI Carbon Tax
January 23, 2023January 23, 2023

On January 18, every single Republican member of the Pennsylvania State Senate signed (and sent) a joint letter to newly-minted Gov. Josh Shapiro urging him to take steps “immediately” to undo PA’s entrance into the insane Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) carbon tax, a plan forced on the state by Shapiro’s wacky predecessor Tom Wolf. During the campaign, Shapiro prevaricated on whether or not he would pull PA’s plan to enter RGGI.
Read More “PA Republicans Urge New Gov. Shapiro to Repeal RGGI Carbon Tax”
Industrywide Issues | Statewide WV | Taxation | West Virginia

WV Severance Tax Revenues “Eye-Popping” and “Historic” Thx to Shale
January 11, 2023January 11, 2023

West Virginia’s annual 60-day legislative session begins today. Yesterday, in preparation for the new session, the state’s Revenue Secretary, Dave Hardy, and Deputy Secretary, Mark Muchow, gave a report on the state’s finances to the Joint Committee on Finance. Hardy said state surpluses from taxes (particularly the severance tax) are “eye-popping and they’re historic numbers.” The high price of natural gas has led to record severance tax collections in the Mountain State. Halfway through the fiscal year, severance tax collections are up 113%. State revenue is up 21% year-to-date because of high severance tax collections. But, will the severance tax gravy train continue?
Read More “WV Severance Tax Revenues “Eye-Popping” and “Historic” Thx to Shale”
Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA | Taxation

World Carbon Taxes, Biggest Hoax Ever, Increased 40% in 2021
December 14, 2022December 14, 2022

In addition to the so-called Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a carbon tax on coal- and gas-fired power plants in the northeastern U.S., there are a number of other carbon tax schemes operating around the world. It is the biggest hoax ever perpetrated on the human race–getting us to pay for carbon dioxide emissions, the very stuff you breathe out with every breath you take. Part of the con job Pennsylvania Gov. Wolf tried was to convince everyone the carbon tax wouldn’t cost power plants all that much yet would deliver billions in revenue to the state. But the costs of carbon credits companies are required to purchase have skyrocketed over the past year. EIA says carbon credits went up an average 40% in 2021.
Read More “World Carbon Taxes, Biggest Hoax Ever, Increased 40% in 2021”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | BP | Chevron | ConocoPhillips | Energy Companies | Exxon Mobil | Industrywide Issues | Shell | Taxation

Senate Democrats Attack Big Oil Again, Propose Huge New Taxes
December 12, 2022December 12, 2022

What can we say? Once again, the Democrat Party is trying to demonize fossil fuels and is going after “Big Oil,” proposing insanely high new taxes on a handful of oil companies because, for a single year (2022), they have actually made some money. All money and profits belong to the government in the left’s twisted worldview. A cabal of seven Senators led by Sen. Robert Menendez from New Jersey has launched this latest attack against our industry.
Read More “Senate Democrats Attack Big Oil Again, Propose Huge New Taxes”
Industrywide Issues | Statewide WV | Taxation | West Virginia

West Virginia Severance Tax Revenue Jumps 475% from Last Year
November 15, 2022November 15, 2022

John Deskins, director of the Bureau of Business & Economic Research at West Virginia University, told members of the state legislature’s Joint Committee on Natural Gas Development at a meeting on Monday that the severance tax on natural gas production in the state is responsible for more than 20% of the state’s record-breaking tax revenue surpluses. Natural gas severance tax collections between July and October accounted for approximately 20% of the $575 million in total general revenue fund surplus tax revenue during that time period.
Read More “West Virginia Severance Tax Revenue Jumps 475% from Last Year”
Electrical Generation | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA | Taxation

Lawsuit Says Pa. RGGI Carbon Tax Will RAISE Not Lower Emissions
November 14, 2022November 14, 2022

Several lawsuits have been filed against the Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf administration in its attempt to force the state to join the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) carbon tax program, including a lawsuit by the state legislature. In July, three gas-fired power plant operators–Calpine Corporation, Tenaska Westmoreland Management, and Fairless Energy–filed a lawsuit against the state Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) and its Environmental Quality Board (EQB) opposing its attempt (under orders from Wolf) to force the state into RGGI carbon tax auctions. That lawsuit has some rather illuminating charges–like the claim that moving to RGGI will result in HIGHER, not lower, emissions from power plants.
Read More “Lawsuit Says Pa. RGGI Carbon Tax Will RAISE Not Lower Emissions”
Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA | Taxation

PA IFO Predicts 2022 Impact Tax Will be Highest on Record – $275M
November 1, 2022November 1, 2022

In June, MDN told you about this year’s distribution of last year’s (2021) Pennsylvania impact fee revenue (PA’s version of a severance tax) to local municipalities and to the black hole of Harrisburg politicians (see PA Pays Out $234M in Impact Tax for 2021 – 2nd Highest Ever). Impact fee revenues for last year were the second-highest ever. The Pennsylvania Independent Fiscal Office (IFO) has just issued an estimate for how much the impact fee will raise this year (to be distributed next year). The IFO says it thinks, based on the price of natural gas and overall drilling activity, that PA will land its biggest impact fee haul ever. IFO’s estimates are typically pretty accurate.
Read More “PA IFO Predicts 2022 Impact Tax Will be Highest on Record – $275M”
Economic Impact | Hydrogen | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA | Taxation

PA $2.1B Tax Credit Bill for H2, Natural Gas Passes & Goes to Gov
October 28, 2022October 28, 2022

As we mentioned yesterday, House Bill (HB) 1059, legislation to provide $142 million annually in state tax credits for several purposes, including clean hydrogen hubs, use of natural gas, semiconductor manufacturing, and milk processors, was approved by a Senate committee and is on a fast track to becoming signed into law (see PA Senate Ctte Approves Tax Credit for Hydrogen, Natural Gas). Not long after a Senate committee approved it, the full Senate voted to pass it with a large bipartisan majority (41-8), followed by the House voting to concur with the Senate’s changes (139 to 59). The bill is now on Gov. Tom Wolf’s desk for his signature, which is expected (maybe even today).
Read More “PA $2.1B Tax Credit Bill for H2, Natural Gas Passes & Goes to Gov”
Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA | Taxation

PA Lawmakers, Gov Working on $3.6B Tax Credits for Natgas, H2, More
October 25, 2022October 25, 2022

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf and Republicans from the state legislature are reportedly working on a “massive development package” of tax credits that would, among other things, encourage MORE natural gas development in the Keystone State. Wolf (and the Republicans) are hoping to get something hammered out before the Nov. 8th election. One of the cool things about the bill is that it would expand a bill signed into law in 2020 that provides an incentive to companies to use “fracked methane in manufacturing.” So far, the state has attracted one such project, the Nacero gas-to-liquids plant planned for Luzerne County (see NEPA Huge Deal – $6B Plant to Convert Marcellus Gas to Gasoline). The hope is that by expanding tax incentives, more $6 billion plants will decide to locate in PA.
Read More “PA Lawmakers, Gov Working on $3.6B Tax Credits for Natgas, H2, More”
Allegheny County | Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA | Taxation

PA Senate Bill Advances to Punish Counties that Ban Fracking
October 19, 2022October 19, 2022

The Pennsylvania Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee was busy yesterday. In a companion post today, we told you about opposition to a bill by Sen. Carolyn Comitta that would do nothing more than study the concept of exporting LNG from the Philadelphia region (see PA Sen. Carolyn Comitta, Anti from Philly, Confuses LNG and NGL). A second bill that Comitta and her pal on the Environmental Committee, Sen. Katie Muth (also a left-wing Democrat), opposed yesterday is a bill that withholds impact fee (tax) revenue from counties that ban fracking on or under public lands, like parks.
Read More “PA Senate Bill Advances to Punish Counties that Ban Fracking”
Industrywide Issues | Regulation | Taxation

How the Inflation Reduction Act’s Onerous New Methane Tax Works
September 29, 2022September 29, 2022

After the shocking news that U.S. Senator Joe Manchin had sold out his state and the entire country by agreeing to support the misnamed Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) bill, the details began to come out about just how bad this bill really is for the oil and gas industry. First and foremost, it slaps a new tax on oil and gas activities (see Joe Manchin’s Green New Deal Cave Slaps O&G with Big Methane Tax). We’ve shared a couple of articles touching on how this onerous and harmful new tax will work (see Confusion Over How to Implement New Methane Tax in Inflation Bill and A Closer Look at New Manchin Methane Tax – Part of IRA). We have a much better, deeper, more comprehensive explanation of the new tax from RBN Energy.
Read More “How the Inflation Reduction Act’s Onerous New Methane Tax Works”
Electrical Generation | Industrywide Issues | Regulation | Statewide VA | Taxation | Virginia

Youngkin Says He has Power to Remove Va. from RGGI Carbon Tax
September 14, 2022September 14, 2022

Last December, Virginia’s newly-elected governor, Glenn Youngkin, said that as soon as he took office, he would use his executive power to withdraw Virginia from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (see VA’s New Republican Gov Pledges to Cancel RGGI Carbon Tax). RGGI is nothing more than an obscene, very expensive carbon tax. However, after taking office, Virginia’s leftist Attorney General told Youngkin the law does not permit the governor to use an executive order to undo a legislative action (see Va. Gov. Youngkin Can’t Use Exec Order to Block RGGI Carbon Tax). After reviewing the law that was passed, Youngkin now says yeah, he really does have the power to undo RGGI after all…
Read More “Youngkin Says He has Power to Remove Va. from RGGI Carbon Tax”
Electrical Generation | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA | Taxation

RGGI Carbon Tax Super High, Latest Auction Averaged $13.45/Ton
September 12, 2022September 12, 2022

The so-called Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a tax on carbon dioxide emissions from coal and natural gas-fired power plants aimed at killing off those two sources of energy, held its latest tax auction on Friday. The result was pricing close to an all-time high, although the average price came down just a smidgen from the previous auction. Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf is trying to force PA to join the RGGI cabal of 11 states (most of them in the northeast), a move endorsed by the man who wants to replace him in November, PA Attorney General Josh Shapiro (see PA AG Shapiro Signs Off on RGGI Carbon Tax…After Criticizing It). In the most recent RGGI “auction” of so-called carbon allowances, bidders paid an average of $13.45 per allowance–per short ton of CO2 emitted. That’s down from (but still close to) the previous all-time high of $13.90.
Read More “RGGI Carbon Tax Super High, Latest Auction Averaged $13.45/Ton”
Electrical Generation | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA | Taxation

PA Supreme Court Keeps Block in RGGI Carbon Tax in Place, For Now
September 2, 2022September 2, 2022

In a small but important victory against Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf’s effort to force the state to join the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) carbon tax scheme, the PA Supreme Court on Wednesday opted not to overturn a Commonwealth Court decision that blocks the state from participating in RGGI until several lawsuits play out. The state Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP), under Wolf’s thumb, argued the state should be allowed to enforce the new tax in advance of a resolution to the lawsuits. Nope. Not gonna happen. It now appears it will be early next year before RGGI can go into effect–if ever.
Read More “PA Supreme Court Keeps Block in RGGI Carbon Tax in Place, For Now”
Industrywide Issues | Regulation | Statewide WV | Taxation | West Virginia

A Closer Look at New Manchin Methane Tax – Part of IRA
August 31, 2022August 31, 2022

After the shocking news that U.S. Senator Joe Manchin had sold out his state and the entire country by agreeing to support the misnamed Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) bill, the details began to come out about just how bad this bill really is for the oil and gas industry. First and foremost, it slaps a new tax on oil and gas activities (see Joe Manchin’s Green New Deal Cave Slaps O&G with Big Methane Tax). We recently told you about the confusion about how that tax will work (see Confusion Over How to Implement New Methane Tax in Inflation Bill). We now have some more details–a summary overview of the damaging new Manchin methane tax…
Read More “A Closer Look at New Manchin Methane Tax – Part of IRA”