Taxation

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) had a doubly bad day on Friday. First, a Commonwealth Court judge ordered them to “cease and desist” their review of town zoning ordinances for compliance with Act 13 (see this MDN story). Also, the PUC admitted on Friday that some of their calculations for how much money some towns will get from the new Marcellus Shale impact fee is a bit “off.” This is the second time the PUC has had to backpedal on some of their calculations of the complex impact fee disbursement formula.

Here’s what the PUC would, and would not, say on Friday:

Read More “PA PUC Says Impact Fee Payment Calculations Still “Off””

Pennsylvania is facing a growing crisis over a too-generous and now essentially bankrupt pension system for state public employees. The Harrisburg Patriot-News’ editorial page writer has a “brilliant” solution: Enact a big fat severance tax on Marcellus Shale gas (killing it in the process) and transfer the money from one group of people to another group who didn’t earn it, didn’t work for it, and have nothing to do with it. Typical liberal solution to all problems.

All the usual arguments come out: “All the other states are doing it.” “Give everyone a property tax break (i.e. buy them all off to go along with it).” “At current prices we’re selling ourselves too cheaply.” And, “It’ll be just a teeny, tiny little tax—the big, bad energy companies won’t even notice it.” Don’t believe a word of it.

Read More “What PA Doesn’t Need: A Shale Gas Severance Tax”

The checks divvying up $204 million raised by Pennsylvania in a new tax, called an “impact fee” on shale gas drilling, will be mailed out within 10 days. Why is the so-called impact fee a tax and not really a fee? Because 40% of the “fee” goes to communities where there is no drilling! Taking from one to give to another who didn’t earn it is a tax, and a 40% tax was the political price to be paid in order to get new drilling legislation passed. Politicians in places like Philadelphia had both hands out and would not vote in favor of the Act 13 law unless those palms were greased. It’s sleazy, but it’s politics in PA.

A full and detailed list of counties and townships and their share of the impact “fee” revenue is embedded below. Philly made out better than most drilling communities:

Read More “List of PA Impact Fee Disbursements by County/Town”

The new Pennsylvania Act 13 drilling law is paying off. Yesterday the PA State Public Utility Commission (PUC), the agency charged will billing and receiving the “impact fee” provided for under the new law, reported how much money was billed, and how much was received. We have the detailed list by drilling company (embedded below).

The original estimate in the spring of this year when the law was passed, is that the first year would raise a total of $180 million in new revenue. The good news? More than $200 million was raised from the impact fee. The PUC billed drillers $205,890,000. So far they’ve paid $197,600,000. The difference is either cases where the driller disputes the PUC’s information about the status of a well, and a few cases of “the check is in the mail.”

Read More “PA Impact Fee Raises More Revenue than Expected”

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) will release numbers today detailing which drillers have paid what amount in “impact fees” (PA’s version of a severance tax) for 2011. The newly enacted Act 13 drilling law in PA, passed in the spring of this year, calls for an impact fee on each new well drilled, beginning with wells drilled in 2011.

Read More “PA to Release Impact Fee Collection Numbers Today”