Posted on 12/13/2015 12:48:18 PM PST by Kaslin
Things aren’t going very well in Juneau these days and unlike the more nuanced arguments taking place in other states, Alaska is dealing with a problem which can be summed up in one word: money. The state spent a long time riding high on sustained, high oil prices which greatly impact their budget, but the sunset of the oil boom has led to a long term collapse in those revenues and Alaska needs to come up with some more cash. Their part time legislature will be returning to session next month and they will be facing a wide ranging proposal from Governor Bill Walker to fatten up the state coffers through new and increased taxes. (KTUU News)
Gov. Bill Walker is proposing a personal state income tax as part of his plan to close Alaska’s $3.5 billion budget gap, he announced Wednesday.
The administration estimates that having a majority of residents pay directly into state government for the first time since 1980 would generate an additional $200 million of state revenue each year…
In addition to an income tax, Walker's new plan to pay for state government calls for several revenue-generating steps, including:
- A 2 percent increase on the top mining tax bracket ($12 million).
- A 1 percent commercial fishing surtax ($20 million).
- Elimination of tourism tax exemptions ($15 million).
- An additional fee for every alcoholic drink sold ($40 million).
- A $1 increase for tax on a pack of cigarettes ($27 million).
You may remember Walker from his early profile as a Republican who later bolted the party to run as an independent. From that mixed-breed platform he adopted a patchwork of policies from both liberal and conservative playbooks, including opposition to new mine construction, global warming prevention and Obamacare Medicaid expansion alongside support for oil and gas pipeline construction, offshore drilling and expanded gun rights. How this massive tax plan fits into that ideology is anybody’s guess.
His problem is that oil used to reliably sell for 80 to 100 dollars per barrel or more. It’s now been below 50 for quite a while and recently hit $38. Adjustments obviously need to be made, but this clearly isn’t a conservative reflex on display in response to the economic shortfall. Digging in immediately and reaching for even more sin taxes is historically a loser. (Alaska already has among the highest taxes in the nation for beer and wine. If they pass this tobacco tax they’ll be in the top five in the nation in that category.) Installing a progressive state income tax will simply take an historically red state and make it look all the more blue.
The Governor is proposing some cuts in spending to Alaska’s generous budget for education, health and social services, but the state GOP is saying it’s not going far enough and doesn’t realistically deal with their budget needs. Others would like to see him exploring some version of online sales tax enforcement. The one area of agreement seems to be the pinch residents will feel in their wallets if their annual checks based on the resource royalty payments fund (from oil revenues) are slashed as proposed. That’s one area where the government as an entity and the taxpayers are joined as partners in the good times and the bad, so when commodity prices dip, everyone feels the pain.
The legislature has a big job in front of them this year. The voters will have an equally important task in deciding if they elected the right man for the job in terms of handling the state purse when the hard times hit.
Yup Alaska currently dont’ have sale tax can you with sale tax with gallon of milk would cost at 11 dollars LOL!
Everybody knew what you meant except for GreyFriar.
Not a mistake for her. When Sean Parnell was elected Governor in 2010, Parnell dismissed all of Palin’s staff. Parnell hired his own staff. Walker promised to hire some of Palin’s staff. Palin was looking out for her friends. But then again, if she was concerned about her staff’s job security, perhaps she could have ran for re-election in 2010 and for Senate in 2014.
I didn't know that. That's kinda sinister.
perhaps, palin learned the art of deal making from trump. didn’t we learn anything for the past 6 months? helping dems get elected for favors makes you a tru conservative.
the darndest thing happened. I was able to open Excel. Then I closed it. And then I needed to reference a spreadsheet again and I had the same issue and haven’t been able to fix it. Crazy
Why not just say it!
Any governor who wants to raise taxes is a Demonrat. That is just plain logical
Nice thought. Wise thought. Now try to keep your dough. Lots of sources of financial advice out there..... none of which takes account of the raw determination of investment banks and their plaything, the Fed, to turn your dough into their dough. Go on, keep it if you can. Good luck.
They get money from the state, for oil, ...
No. The oil under Alaska is considered a resource belonging to the citizens of the state. The companies extracting and selling that oil pay a percentage to those citizens.
I seem to remember that Alaska had a governor who would veto spending bills sometimes. She had this weird idea you don’t spend all the money coming in during fat times so there’d be some to tide tyou through thin times.
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