Committee explaining natural gas tax proposal

HARRISBURG — The legislature’s House Finance Committee will hold a hearing 2 p.m. Thursday, May 13 at Shawnee Inn, Shawnee-on-Delaware to explain a proposed severance tax on natural gas production, in House Bill 2443. H.B. 2243 would set a tax of 25 cents per 1,000 cubic feet of natural gas that is drawn from the ground. That figure can be reviewed annually and adjusted up if necessary. Twenty percent of the total revenue would be distributed to the Local Government Services Fund to be shared by municipalities and counties where the gas is produced, along with local volunteer fire companies and ambulances in counties where the gas is produced. Also, three percent of the total revenue from the tax would be distributed to county conservation districts. “This hearing will allow local residents to learn about this proposal, which steers a significant portion of the revenue back to local communities and environmental organizations,” said John Siptroth, D-Monroe/Pike. “It is one of several bills in the House of Representatives that would impose a severance tax, and it is one I support.”