Episode 25: What even is a severance tax?

Pennsylvania has been drilling natural gas in the Marcellus Shale formation for about a decade now, and in all that time, a question has come up over and over without ever being resolved: is the commonwealth getting enough money out of it?

Democrats, like Governor Tom Wolf, usually say no. They want a new tax on the gas that comes out of the ground—a so-called severance tax. But Republicans tend to say the current tax structure—which includes corporate taxes, plus an impact fee for every new hole drilled—is plenty, and taxing more might drive out business.

The issue is now coming to a head, once again, as lawmakers try to find enough money to balance a $2.2 billion hole in their overdue budget. WITF’s own StateImpact Pennsylvania reporter Marie Cusick joins us to help pick apart the convoluted politics of drilling.