PennFuture: New Budget is Sweetheart Deal for Multi-National Gas Drillers, Bupkis for Taxpayers; Plan Would Destroy State Forests on Altar of Natural Gas Industry
HARRISBURG, Pa.-(Business Wire)-September 11, 2009 - Citizens for Pennsylvania’s Future (PennFuture) today condemned the proposed “compromise” budget deal as announced this morning, calling it “bad news for Pennsylvania’s economy, environment and taxpayers.”
“This budget gives a big sweetheart deal to the multi-national gas drilling industry,” said Jan Jarrett, PennFuture’s president and CEO, “but it gives bupkis to the average Pennsylvania taxpayer. Opening up more state land to drilling means all Pennsylvanians lose their access and enjoyment of unspoiled nature.
“In fact, just about everybody except the gas industry loses under this budget deal,” she continued. “Are you a smoker who wants to quit? Too bad. The state is cutting funding to help you quit, and raising the tax on your addiction that now won’t be treated. Do you like to help the local volunteer firefighters out by playing Bingo? Too bad on both sides. Bingo and other small games of chance will now be taxed, which will mean less money for the firefighters. Have a gambling problem? Thanks to the addition of table games at the state’s casinos, you’ll now have more ways to lose money. But if you’re a multi-national energy corporation, you don’t have to pay a severance tax and you get to drill on the public’s forest land.
“This deal comes after the gas drilling industry lobbyists spent more than $1 million dollars just this year to fight against a severance tax – a tax they happily pay in other states,” continued Jarrett. “So instead of paying their fair share, the industry will get sweetheart deals on drilling leases on state land.
“This is no way to balance Pennsylvania’s budget. Thoughtful legislators should vigorously oppose this deal on the grounds that it cheats Pennsylvania taxpayers,” said Jarrett. “It’s time for our elected officials to show political courage and independence by turning down this backroom deal.”
PennFuture is a statewide public interest membership organization. Working from the premise, “Every environmental victory grows the economy,” PennFuture has successfully advocated for landmark environmental legislation, including passage of the largest-ever environmental funding bond, investment in green energy and energy savings programs, the Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards Act, the Clean Vehicles Program and adoption of a regulation that restricts mercury pollution from coal-fired power plants.
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