Dear Senator, Whose Side Are You On?

On Monday, June 7th, nearly two hundred nursing home caregivers and their allies from across the state gathered near the State Capitol and the headquarters of the Pennsylvania Oil and Gas Association and the Associated Petroleum Industries of Pennsylvania to demand that Pennsylvania require big energy corporations pay their fair share in taxes.

As the legislature debates the proposed budget for the next fiscal year, our members helped remind Pennsylvania
lawmakers of the choice before them: close tax loopholes that allow Exxon and other energy companies to shirk their fair share of taxes OR cut essential care and services for nursing home residents and other communities in our state.

Pennsylvania faces a $1.3 billion budget deficit in the next two years without new sources of revenue to pay for services statewide. To help shrink this gap, Rendell’s proposed budget aims to increase revenue by:

• Closing the corporate loopholes that allow companies to claim profits in tax-free Delaware,
• Adding a moderate tax on smokeless tobacco and cigars, and
• Ensuring that the energy companies pay their fair share in Marcellus Shale extraction taxes.

Sign this petition, and urge your state senator to support increasing revenue for the state budget.