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| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
| State Rep. Phyllis Mundy
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Mundy votes against tax break for multi-billion foreign corporation
HARRISBURG, June 30 – Although state Rep. Phyllis Mundy voted against billions of dollars in tax breaks for one of the world’s largest, wealthiest foreign corporations today, the legislation passed the House on a mostly party-line vote.
Royal Dutch Shell, a wealthy multi-national corporation based in the Netherlands, would be the first company to benefit from the new tax credit program. According to Forbes magazine, Royal Dutch Shell earned $30 billion in profit last year.
The tax credit would benefit companies building facilities in Pennsylvania to manufacture a chemical called ethylene, which is produced by breaking down ethane gas found in the Marcellus Shale. Companies would receive tax breaks based on how much ethane they purchase.
An amendment which would have based the tax credit on the number of jobs created by such a facility was defeated by House Republicans by using a procedural maneuver to block the vote.
“If this enormous tax break was really about creating jobs, as some claim, than it should be based on how many jobs are created, not the amount of ethane that is purchased,” said Mundy. “Worse yet, the bill doesn’t require that any jobs created by the company have to go to Pennsylvanians or even U.S. citizens. In fact, the location of the site in western Pennsylvania almost assures that many of those employed will be Ohio and West Virginia residents.”
The proposed site for the new Royal Dutch Shell facility would be located in a Keystone Opportunity Expansion Zone. Since the company would not pay any state or local taxes for the first 15 years of operation in the KOEZ, the bill allows the sale of the unused tax credits.