The debate rages on as to whether Marcellus Shale drillers should have to pay a severance fee to the government.
The taxers say that the drillers are depleting the land and, therefore, ought to pay money representing a percentage of what they sever, since the asset will one day be gone, but the roads, infrastructure, social service network, schools and environment will have been “used up.” The no-taxers say that we need to incubate the industry, so as to maximize the number of jobs and economic growth the drillers and their compatriots will bring to the area. The no-taxers point out that even though 38 other states have a severance tax — virtually every state that has gas in the ground — some of those states have a lower total tax when you count taxes such as income tax and sales tax.
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