Letter to Editor, Reading Eagle, October 17, 2017

“Wolf stumps in Erie for Marcellus shale tax” (Reading Eagle, Oct. 12) irritated me. As a supporter of Gov. Tom Wolf, I was outraged that his promise of implementing a tax on the gas extracted from the Marcellus shale has yet to be realized.

I know the blame lies not in the hands of our governor but in our Legislature, a highly compensated group of people who work for the citizens of Pennsylvania but cannot manage to pass a tax on big gas companies that are destroying our natural resources while cashing in on consumers.Pennsylvania is the nation’s second-largest gas-producing state. We are the only state not to tax extracted gas.

Are you kidding me? We have no budget, we have a miserably failing Medicaid system to help the poor, our roads and bridges are crumbling around us, and our GOP House legislators refuse to consent to taxing the Marcellus shale gas? It’s preposterous.

Every Pennsylvania voter represented by a Republican in the House should encourage their representative to follow the rest of the United States and tax gas extraction. It is time to balance the budget, it is time to settle the partisan nonsense, and it is time for Pennsylvanians to take control and elect House members who support a sensible tax on gas.

Dr. Brian M. Schwab
Alsace Township

Source: http://www.readingeagle.com/news/article/letter-state-should-be-taxing-natural-gas-extraction

From an Article by Rusty Marks, WV Press, August 14, 2017

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice said state tax officials and those running several of his coal companies are close to reaching an agreement on millions of dollars in past-due severance and other taxes.

“I’m a high-profile guy now,” Justice said August 4th, a day after announcing with president Donald Trump in Huntington that he would change his party affiliation from Democrat to Republican. “It needs to be straightened up.”

Justice has made it clear he has turned over operations of his coal interests to his son, Jay Justice, but millions of dollars in severance taxes remain unpaid. A review of tax documents shows several Justice-owned companies still owe back taxes both in Raleigh and Kanawha counties.

According to tax liens on file in the office of the Raleigh County Clerk, Justice’s companies owe almost $2.27 million in back taxes and penalties in Raleigh County. The taxes are owed by Southern Coal Corp., Kentucky Fuel Corp., Justice Energy Co. and Tams Management Inc., all owned by Justice.

Between August 2016 and February 2017, state officials also filed tax liens totaling almost $972,000 against Tams Management in the Kanawha County Clerk’s office. The liens are in addition to about $1.22 million in tax liens filed against Tams Management in Kanawha County in 2013.

According to Kanawha County tax records, Justice owes at least $2.89 million in back taxes in Kanawha County.

A lien against Tams Management for about $84,000 filed in Kanawha County was released after the debt was paid off, Kanawha County Clerk’s records show. Another lien against Tams Management for $133,380 was released in July 2016.

Note: The severence tax rate in West Virginia is generally 5% on coal, oil and gas, as well as on sand and gravel, limestone, etc.

Source: http://wvpress.org/breaking-news/governor-says-companies-close-agreement-back-taxes/