Rendell Declares Gas Tax Dead
HARRISBURG (CBS) - Governor Rendell has declared dead the effort to reach agreement on a natural gas drilling tax before he leaves office.
Gary Tuma, a spokesman for Governor Rendell, says "The only people who are unwilling to budge from their position are the Senate Republicans. And they seem to be adamant about that, so apparently that means it is dead."
Tuma says when the governor asked for a counter-proposal on a natural gas extraction tax, the Senate Republicans simply reiterated their position. But Erik Arneson, spokesman for Senate G.O.P. leaders, says Rendell's approach to negotiations is the problem:
"The people involved in the negotiations should sit down and talk through the different issues. And the only issue that the governor has wanted to focus on is the very narrow issue is the rate of the tax."
Arneson says Senate Republicans also want to discuss other related issues, such as how the revenue would be distributed.
Reported by Tony Romeo, KYW Newsradio
