Corbett's Shell Oil Tax Break Gets Support
Gov. Tom Corbett and allies from labor groups, business associations and state and local government make the case for a $1.65 billion tax break for Shell to locate a plant in Pennsylvania.
By Eric Boehm | PA Independent
HARRISBURG — Business groups, union leaders and representatives of state and local government have thrown their support behind a plan to provide Shell Oil with a $1.65 billion tax credit as part of the state budget agreement.
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Gov. Tom Corbett assembled this coalition Wednesday at the state capitol as part of an ongoing effort by the administration to land an ethane cracker plant in Washington County. The plant would use natural gas to produce petrochemical products and could create 20,000 jobs.
The Keystone State is battling with Ohio and West Virginia to land the facility.
The unity displayed by groups that normally oppose each other in state politics was important, said Corbett.
“Even across party lines, even across the lines of labor and business, we all understand that this is an opportunity for the future of our state,” Corbett said. “And it’s not an opportunity that comes along very often.”
A crucial piece of the puzzle is the passage of a special tax credit for ethane, which would be capped at $66 million annually and could give Shell a $1.65 billion tax break over 25 years.
Pennsylvania’s corporate income tax is 9.99 percent, the highest in the nation. Combined with the United States’ corporate income tax, Pennsylvania has the highest taxes on businesses in the world.
Gene Barr, president of business advocates Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry, said the tax break would balance out those economic hurdles, and he encouraged the deal to be part of an overhaul of Pennsylvania’s business climate.
John DeFazio, director of the United Steelworkers District 10, a sector of the largest manufacturing union in North America, said the ethane plant might be “the opportunity of 10 lifetimes” that Pennsylvania could not pass up.
But not everyone is on board with Corbett’s tax break proposal.
Sharon Ward, executive director of the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center, a liberal think tank here, said lawmakers should question a tax break to the world’s second largest company.
“Shell’s parent company had $20 billion in profit in 2010, up 60 percent from the year before,” she said. “The question for lawmakers should be why is Pennsylvania providing any subsidy to this project at all?”
Corbett and others defended the tax credit as being for more than just one company, and ensured that the legislation would not allow for any tax breaks unless jobs were created and other production benchmarks were hit.
“We’re not giving anything away,” said Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald . “It’s almost like hiring a sales representative and paying them only on commission on the sales they make, not giving them the money up front.”
The tax credits would not start until 2017, so this year’s budget would not be affected, Corbett said.
Asked if low taxes for all companies would be better rather than tax breaks for a single corporation, Corbett said those other companies were not coming into the state.
If other large companies came to the state looking for similar arrangements to provide thousands of jobs, he would consider it and the General Assembly should as well.
“That’s not a Republican or Democratic goal. It’s good policy; it’s good politics,” he said.
Harrison T Williamson, Jr.
10:42 am on Sunday, June 24, 2012
God Bless Governor Corbett, and remember to vote Romney on November 6th for the future of the United States is at stake, we as a nation can not afford the Obama policies
Jim Gregory
8:43 am on Monday, June 25, 2012
Oh yea. This is certainly a Romney, Corbett policy for sure..Give millions of dollars in tax breaks to billionairre oil companies while slicing Human Services and education..For sure, they deserve credit for being pathetic!
Vicki Youngelman
10:46 am on Sunday, June 24, 2012
Great!!! As long as the people of Pennsylvania "profit" in the long run. Business arrangements can be changed, companies changhe their boards, and elected officials may not be in power for long. Our Governor Corbett has to dot the "I's and cross the T's" have a Steve Jobs Eye for the future. Good Luck!!!!
Allen Zimmerman
11:29 am on Sunday, June 24, 2012
Great pollute in Pa. tax free, Add more CO2 into the atmosphere pay no taxes........ for 25 years, contaminate the ground water for free!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHATS CORBETT AND HIS CRONIES GETTING OUT OF THIS ??????????........
keith mcdermott
6:01 pm on Sunday, June 24, 2012
We have no money for education but we have money to give to shell
optimist
7:38 pm on Sunday, June 24, 2012
Well spoken Keith!
http://www.mcall.com/news/local/eastpenn/mc-governor-corbett-mcdermott-20120621,0,3797723.story
Liberalism is a mental disorder
12:25 pm on Monday, June 25, 2012
Yo, might try using some FACTS. Corbett will spend more money on education this year than RENDELL ever did. The loss of money is at the LOCAL LEVEL. Derp. God, are all you liberals so clueless?
Try dealing with some facts. If this link is INCORRECT, please post a correct link with what you think are the correct numbers.
http://uppersaucon.patch.com/articles/sen-bob-mensch-op-ed-state-education-subsidy
Mary Giannelli
10:53 pm on Sunday, June 24, 2012
Its bad enough that Gov. Corbett is eliminating critical protections from drilling that are designed to protect our health, drinking water, and forests. But now, he is asking us to scale back on our spending at home, while giving a taxpayer handout to a company that gained $31 billion in profits last year alone. That's larger than the entire state of Pennsylvania's budget last year. If we have as much Marcellus shale in PA as they say, then Shell has plenty to gain by building their plant in PA without the tax incentive.
Don't get me started
9:32 am on Monday, June 25, 2012
Hmmm, let me see,,, 20,000 new jobs. How many teachers were just furloughed state-wide because of the budget reduction for education in PA (again). How many students will be effected by increased class size and discontinued programs? Big Oil company traded for the future of our children.
Liberalism is a mental disorder
12:21 pm on Monday, June 25, 2012
Who cares how many were furloughed. They can be laid off to, just like everybody else who works in this state.
CORBETT IS SPENDING MORE THIS YEAR ON EDUCATION THAN ANY YEAR IN PA HISTORY.
Please, don't get started. And ya, I'm just fine with 20,000 new jobs, even if not one damn one of them is a teacher job. Sick of everything in the debate over the economy being about hiring or hiring back teachers.
John
10:24 am on Monday, June 25, 2012
Yes it is wrong and sucks that education funding has been decimated, but having no new industry or large well paying companies coming to our state providing the increased tax revenues from both income and real estate of its workers is one of the big reasons we are in the mess we are. A business, no matter how large or small, is just like an individual. They are going to do what's in the best interest of the family. As the story said PA has the highest tax rate on business in the country. The state is not giving away anything. They cannot give away money they have not collected. We live in reality people, a state, especially ours, has to provide incentives for a large company to choose their state, it is a competition with the 50 other states. Whether we like it or not that's the way it is. So while you stomp your feet and hold your nose up in the air and refuse to do what is necessary; you can watch all your jobs go else where, the tax base plummet and complain some more about all the cuts to programs.
Liberalism is a mental disorder
12:18 pm on Monday, June 25, 2012
WHERE HAS IT BEEN DECIMATED???? PA will spend more on education this year than any other year. The loses that schools have seen are at the LOCAL LEVEL, due to unemployment.
Carol Kuniholm
10:55 am on Monday, June 25, 2012
Shell made more money in profits last year than PAs entire state budget. There is no evidence that this kind of corporate welfare benefits the states that engage in it. If we want jobs, lets hire more teachers. That would be a triple win - more of our young teachers employed, better schools, a better educated public. Then we could see through the utter nonsense in a tax giveaway like this one.
Instead, Corbett is working on a triple loss - less money in the state budget, more pollution, and more money from Shell in his next campaign budget (yes, a benefit for him, but a big negative for PA citizens).
Yes - we need corporation and good jobs. But the kind of corporations we need most won't come to a state that can't provide well educated workers, and with cuts to public education and state higher ed, we're losing any gains we had.
Don't get me started
12:09 pm on Monday, June 25, 2012
..... and Shell wants what we have. They won't be happy just letting it sit there. Let them make us an offer.
Liberalism is a mental disorder
12:16 pm on Monday, June 25, 2012
It's always the same droning from the left.... teachers... teachers.... teachers.... why the hell are teachers some protected class? I can lose my job any time, why should we keep shelling out more for more teachers? Why do liberals fall on the ground weeping when a teacher loses their job, but don't say a think with 1000 people get punted from a private company? Teacher unemployment is like 1/100th of 1% of all the people unemployed.
AND CORBETT IS SPENDING MORE ON PA EDUCATION THIS YEAR THAN ANY YEAR IN PA HISTORY !!!!!!!!!
Jim Gregory
12:16 pm on Monday, June 25, 2012
Excellent points Carol. We are still subsidzing oil companies at the national level at about 4 biilion a year. It's a sin..Now they want to do it at the state level. It's absolutely crazy!
Liberalism is a mental disorder
12:17 pm on Monday, June 25, 2012
And Carol.... corporations come to states with TAX INCENTIVES. If they can't find the workers they want, they put an ad in a journal and hire them from somewhere else. DUH.
You must be a teacher....
Liberalism is a mental disorder
12:26 pm on Monday, June 25, 2012
Don't see many liberals in this article.... can't deal with the facts, can ya. Corbett spending more on Pa. education that Rendell EVER DID.
http://uppersaucon.patch.com/articles/sen-bob-mensch-op-ed-state-education-subsidy
Liberalism is a mental disorder
12:27 pm on Monday, June 25, 2012
Oh ya, right here in our OWN COMMUNITY, Rendell gave Olympus a huge tax break to come to PA.
Where is your outrage for Fatty Rendell ???? Hypocrits.
Frightwingslayer
11:47 am on Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Ok mr. Moron,
What did Rendell give to Olympus? Doubt you know how much..You just love to spout off. You idiots gotta stop watching Fox news and enter the real world. Some Unions are supporting the Corbett move..Doesn't that scare the heck out of your teabagging butt?
Liberalism is a mental disorder
3:57 pm on Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Olympus is a Keystone Opportunity Zone. Go look it up Crap for Brains Liberal.
Of course Unions are supporting Corbetts move. It will bring jobs to Pa. These are not useless public unions though... put rather the trades, people who need the private sector for job.
Now go play with a sharp knife...
Indian Valley Patcher
3:32 pm on Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Unfortunately for some posters, it is important to watch what links you post and what you quote as facts. The individual (won't state his/her user name since, it is disrespectful to insightful debate) posted the patch article needs to note that it was written a local Republican Senator. It is important for the integrity of your argument to site unbiased sources to substantiate your point of view. In this case, you are incorrect in stating that the Governor has a better record on school budgeting than previous administrations. Especially when it comes to higher education funding. It is important that we all be more critical of the information we use to help us understand the issues that face us today. Look at it from many perspectives and then you should find the truth somewhere in the middle.
Joe
4:02 pm on Wednesday, June 27, 2012
I asked Todd Stephens (R) about the education budget, more precisely the PSER's account. The pension has been neglected by previous administrations (both R&D) that this Governor has decided to face the music, and try to fully fund the Pensions. We see this in some reduced funding going directly to education and being directed to this account. We also see this in our school taxes, as the Commonwealth is requiring higher contributions by school districts. I believe the TOTAL $$$ going to education is as high or higher than the preious administraion.
jordam smith
9:55 pm on Saturday, June 30, 2012
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