Cheers,
knewshound
http://www.knewshound.blogspot.com/
Posted on 10/25/2009 10:06:56 AM PDT by euram
SALT LAKE CITY - A little early for Halloween, but a gathering of people at Utah's Capitol Building, donning Sarah Palin masks, want Governor Gary Herbert to increase tax on oil and gas exports before education and healthcare budgets are cut. The "Flock of Palins" as the group is called, gathered outside the Governor's office to challenge the governor to increase the severance tax, a tax that is imposed on natural resources such as coal, oil and gas that is taken out of the state. In 2007, then Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin, signed a bill to allow a severance tax increase of 25 percent on shipped oil.
In Utah it is only five percent, while there is no tax on coal shipped to other states.
The gathering was represented by several community groups such as the Anti-Hunger Action Committee and the Coalition of Religious Communities.
The Governor's spokesperson said they will listen, but their goal is no tax increase.
"If they want to make a meeting, set a meeting up with the Governor, come armed with a proposal, he will listen to it with respect -- he'll do his research," said the Governor's spokesperson, Angie Welling.
FOX 13's Max Roth reports.
(Excerpt) Read more at fox13now.com ...
Wow. Good for them!
Saved 20 bucks (plus shipping).
Are there any tea partiers there complaining about the wish of these people for a tax increase?
Sounds like a bunch of ACORNs.
Did you know Alaska is the only state with a negative Income Tax (for those of you in Rio Linda that's a refund)?
She raised the severance (production) tax from 22.5% to 25.0%, an increase of 2.5%.
But at the same time, she also increased the exploration tax CREDIT by 10%, from 20% to 30%.
So while the Oil companies pay more taxers on producing fields, they got a big break on the taxes they pay for finding new deposits.
- JP
- JP
She game more money to the public 2.5%
She incentivized the companies to explore more, drill more, extract more and produce more revenue which kicks back more money to the public.
I wish Texas would charge California a high tax for our energy supplies.
You might be thinking of the PFD, something not well understood.
Here, maybe this will help.
The Alaska Permanent Fund is a constitutionally established permanent fund, managed by a semi-independent corporation, established by Alaska in 1976, primarily by the efforts of then Governor Jay Hammond. Shortly after the oil from Alaska’s North Slope began flowing to market through the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System, the Permanent Fund was created by an amendment to the Alaska Constitution to be an investment for at least 25% of proceeds from some minerals (such as oil and gas) sale or royalties.
The Fund does not include either property taxes on oil company property nor income tax from oil corporations, so the minimum 25% deposit is closer to 11% if those sources were also considered. The Alaska Permanent Fund sets aside a certain share of oil revenues to continue benefiting current and all future generations of Alaskans.
Here is the money quote (literally)
Many citizens also believed that the legislature too quickly and too inefficiently spent the $900 million bonus the state got in 1969 after leasing out the oil fields. This belief spurred a desire to put some oil revenues out of direct political control.
The Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation manages the assets of both the Permanent Fund and other state investments, but spending Fund income is up to the Legislature. The Corporation is to manage for maximum prudent return, and not as a development bank for in-state projects.
The Fund grew from an initial investment of $734,000 in 1977 to approximately $28 billion as of March 2008. Some growth was due to good management, some to inflationary re-investment, and some via legislative decisions to deposit extra income during boom years. Each year, the fund's realized earnings are split between inflation-proofing, operating expenses, and the annual Permanent Fund Dividend.
Hope this helps for you to understand more about the PFD.
Good for them? Raise the taxes, disincentivise exploration and the companies will leave—hence, no tax income for the state which will have to be made up by putting a 10 dollar tax on a pack of cigarettes to the remaining few smokers. Good luck with that.
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