Infographic: What Will They Tax Next?

The Washington Observer-Reporter recently editorialized on the tax hikes in the Senate-passed revenue plan, answering questions all Pennsylvanians should be asking themselves:

Do you heat your house with natural gas? Your taxes are going up.

Do you use electricity for fancy things such as lights and air conditioning? Once again, your taxes are going up.

Do you like to talk to people over the telephone? Yes, indeed, your taxes are going up.

There's no question the Senate tax proposal is broad-based and more of the same job-killing taxes that are responsible for anemic economic growth.

Last week a coalition of job creators noted the 2.2% severance tax on top of the impact fee will tax the same natural gas up to four times:

1. An impact fee on drilling,
2. A severance tax on extraction,
3. A gross receipts tax on gas consumers, and
4. A tax on industry profits.

That's just one example of how nonsensical this tax hike is. Here's another doozy: The Senate fiscal note says $20 million in natural gas gross receipts tax revenue will be diverted each year to “make the use of gas more efficient and affordable to consumers.” That's right, there could be a tax on natural gas consumers to make natural gas more affordable for consumers.

But that's only one of many taxes the Senate proposed. Check out this shareable infographic illustrating the other job-killing, broad-based taxes House lawmakers have an opportunity to reject: