Letter of Opposition to HB 1950: Marcellus Shale Tax
On behalf of Americans for Prosperity-Pennsylvania's 110,000 activists statewide, we ask you to consider voting no on HB1950.

For the following reasons, the Legislature and the Governor must resist and oppose all efforts to impose any new tax:

* To position this new ‘fee’ or ‘impact fee’ as something other than a “tax” is dishonest. Individuals and business owners recognize that there is no difference.

* To seek such a tax increase on a newly developing industry, regardless of its potential size and ability to pay, and especially in the absence of clear necessity, is a form of governmental extortion.

* Subsidizing more "Green" energy initiatives is unconscienable considering the failures of Solyndra and Ener1 at the Federal level.

* No new tax, fee or substantive ongoing financial assessment should be imposed on this or any new industry without a comprehensive overall restructuring of our corporate tax system.

Read more here.

NOW is the time for true leadership, and for those committed to economic prosperity and job creation, to stand up and protect prosperity from bloodsucking. AFP-PA calls on the leadership of this great Commonwealth to oppose this massive tax increase. It’s the right thing to do.

Americans for Prosperity (AFP) is committed to educating citizens about economic policy and mobilizing those citizens as advocates in the public policy process. AFP is an organization of grassroots leaders who engage citizens in the name of limited government and free markets on the local, state, and federal levels. The grassroots activists of AFP advocate for public policies that champion the principles of entrepreneurship and fiscal and regulatory restraint. To that end, AFP supports:

* Cutting taxes and government spending in order to halt the encroachment of government in the economic lives of citizens by fighting proposed tax increases and pointing out evidence of waste, fraud, and abuse.
* Tax and Expenditure Limitations to promote fiscal responsibility.
* Removing unnecessary barriers to entrepreneurship and opportunity by sparking citizen involvement in the regulatory process early on in order to reduce red tape.
* Restoring fairness to our judicial system.

Thank you for your consideration.

Katy Abram
Pennsylvania Director of Legislative Policy

Americans for Prosperity
www.americansforprosperity.org/pennsylvania

Twitter: @afppennsylvania

UPDATE: 4:27PM 2/8/2012

Pennsylvania’s House has passed a Mar­cel­lus Shale impact fee on a 101–90 vote.