Many of you recently received a postcard from a lobbying group which gets funding from the same labor unions that support Gov. Tom Wolf.

The postcard attacks me for what it says is my non-support of a severance tax on natural gas companies that drill in Pennsylvania's Marcellus Shale regions.

In fact, I would support a severance tax that is fair and reasonable and we know exactly where the revenue it generates is going.

I would also support a plan that maintains the impact fees already paid by the companies that go toward infrastructure and public safety improvements in the communities where the drilling operations are located.

That said, the governor's severance tax proposal is neither fair nor reasonable.

He calls such a tax one of the keys to solving the state budget stalemate and a way to greatly increase funding for our public schools. The numbers and facts tell a different story.

Although Wolf has proposed an effective tax rate (up to 17.5 percent) that is far higher than any other gas-producing state, his severance tax would, at best, generate just $188 million in new revenue once it is fully implemented.

Of his proposed $4.7 billion tax increase in 2015-16, just 3 cents of each dollar in new taxes would come from natural gas drillers.

It would also most likely result in higher home heating and electric bills for consumers due to the tax being passed on.

The bulk of Wolf's additional tax burden would be borne by hard-working Pennsylvanians and their families through a 20-percent increase in the personal income tax and a 10-percent increase in the sales tax rate.

The sales tax would also be expanded to include hundreds of products and services not currently taxed – from diapers and day care to nursing home stays and funeral services.

The governor claims enacting a severance tax is the only way to fairly fund our schools, but under his proposal, most of the tax revenue goes elsewhere, including funding to replace current impact fee distributions, additional state bureaucrats, "economic development" grants and making annual debt payments for massive borrowing to fund "alternative" energy competitors, including solar and wind power.

As the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, state Rep. William Adolph, R-Delaware, put it, "The governor's characterization of a severance tax as a panacea for this budget is patently inaccurate. What has become absolutely clear is the administration is using this severance tax as a distraction for their true desire to pass huge spending increases and enact inequitable distribution of state taxes."

And that's the real story.

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Editor's note: State Rep. Justin Simmons, a Republican represents the 131st Legislative District.