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Alaska Governor pushes lots of new taxes, including state income tax
Hot Air.com ^ | December 13, 2015 | JAZZ SHAW

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:

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.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial; Government; US: Alaska; US: New York; US: Texas
KEYWORDS: 2016election; alaska; anwr; billwalker; drilltheanwr; election2016; energy; governor; incometax; methane; newyork; oilandgasindustry; opec; petroleum; sintaxes; taxes; tedcruz; texas; trump
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To: Kaslin

So milk would still be $11/gallon *and* they’d have a sales tax?


21 posted on 12/13/2015 1:13:25 PM PST by Gay State Conservative (Obamanomics:Trickle Up Poverty)
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To: dp0622

s’what happened to Jesse Ventura.


22 posted on 12/13/2015 1:17:34 PM PST by Eric in the Ozarks (Baseball players, gangsters and musicians are remembered. But journalists are forgotten.)
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To: GreyFriar

spending not sending

Danged cell phone screen is too small to type.


23 posted on 12/13/2015 1:20:50 PM PST by kennedy (No relation to those other Kennedys.)
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To: kennedy

Gasp!


24 posted on 12/13/2015 1:31:45 PM PST by Ray76
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To: Kaslin

They get money from the state, for oil, then they pay income tax? That’s sort of like getting social security and paying income tax on it.


25 posted on 12/13/2015 1:37:44 PM PST by ThePatriotsFlag ( Anything FREELY-GIVEN by the government was TAKEN from someone else)
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To: Kaslin

Income Tax?

Major Stupid Move.


26 posted on 12/13/2015 1:59:50 PM PST by TruthInThoughtWordAndDeed (Yahuah Yahusha)
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To: Jim Robinson

I don’t think that she is surprised. She knew that she was endorsing the Democrat ticket. The question is why. She apparently had a falling out with Governor Sean Parnell, her former Lt. Governor.


27 posted on 12/13/2015 2:05:02 PM PST by iowamark (I must study politics and war that my sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy)
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To: iowamark

Oh, ok.


28 posted on 12/13/2015 2:08:43 PM PST by Jim Robinson (Resistance to tyrants is obedience to to God!)
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To: iowamark

Strange situation.


29 posted on 12/13/2015 2:09:22 PM PST by Jim Robinson (Resistance to tyrants is obedience to to God!)
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To: iowamark
IIRC, Parnell overturned many of her reforms and re-instituted the CBC*.
*Corrupt Bastards Club

30 posted on 12/13/2015 2:14:52 PM PST by Bratch
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To: GreyFriar

Large and powerful indigineous population with hands out for State and Federal $$$$$ for a start. Small population spread out in numerous small and very remote cities, and no employment.


31 posted on 12/13/2015 2:44:16 PM PST by Tarasaramozart
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To: Eric in the Ozarks

lol

hey, anybody reading this and knows something about computers, my laptop crashed, i rebooted and now i can’t open excel. Said it’s not compatible with the windows i was running.

it was compatible five minutes earlier before the crash!!


32 posted on 12/13/2015 2:51:44 PM PST by dp0622 (..)
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To: dp0622

Check for an update. Might be all...


33 posted on 12/13/2015 3:16:14 PM PST by Road Warrior ‘04 (Molon Labe! (Oathkeeper))
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To: Kaslin

oil at a thirty handle, Times are not very good for Alaskans.


34 posted on 12/13/2015 4:08:58 PM PST by CPT Clay (Hillary: Julius and Ethal Rosenberg were electrocuted for selling classified info.)
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To: AdmSmith; AnonymousConservative; Berosus; bigheadfred; Bockscar; cardinal4; ColdOne; ...

Drill the ANWR!


35 posted on 12/13/2015 4:20:59 PM PST by SunkenCiv (Here's to the day the forensics people scrape what's left of Putin off the ceiling of his limo.)
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To: Bushbacker1

thanks man


36 posted on 12/13/2015 4:22:31 PM PST by dp0622 (..)
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To: dp0622

Ditch your PC.
iMac is the future.


37 posted on 12/13/2015 5:26:53 PM PST by Eric in the Ozarks (Baseball players, gangsters and musicians are remembered. But journalists are forgotten.)
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To: dp0622

Did that work for you?


38 posted on 12/13/2015 5:42:38 PM PST by Road Warrior ‘04 (Molon Labe! (Oathkeeper))
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To: Jim Robinson

Sarah? Unfortunately, she endorsed this guy over her GOP successor Sean Parnell. Biggest mistake she ever made.


39 posted on 12/13/2015 5:48:58 PM PST by Impy (They pull a knife, you pull a gun. That's the CHICAGO WAY, and that's how you beat the rats!)
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To: Bratch; iowamark; AuH2ORepublican; BillyBoy

He repealed her pet oil tax which was hurting the industry, that’s all. Alaska voters UPHELD the decision in a referendum. Everyone who supported this lib scumbag Bill Walker owes the people of Alaska an apology.


40 posted on 12/13/2015 6:48:49 PM PST by Impy (They pull a knife, you pull a gun. That's the CHICAGO WAY, and that's how you beat the rats!)
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