Oct 19, 2013 1 min read

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – A Democratic candidate for governor is scolding a lobbying group for Pennsylvania’s booming national gas industry after it criticized proposals by him and other fellow Democratic candidates to raise taxes on the companies.

Tom Wolf issued an open letter Friday to the Marcellus Shale Coalition in which he questioned how many of its members pay Pennsylvania’s corporate net income tax, or avoid it by incorporating in another state.

Wolf, a former state revenue secretary who founded a York-based building products supplier, didn’t disagree that Pennsylvania’s corporate tax structure is one of the nation’s highest.

A coalition spokesman couldn’t immediately say how many members pay the tax.

Wolf suggests higher taxes on the industry could benefit it by helping the state build the infrastructure to use natural gas.