Governor Bill Walker’s newest tax proposal which took all his individual tax suggestions and combined them has received a flat response from legislators during this special session.
After a comprehensive overview of the tax proposal omnibus from Division of Tax Director Ken Alper, Senate Labor and Commerce Committee Chair Mia Costello asked…
Sen. Costello(R-Anchorage): “The governor’s plan that involves taxing working Alaskans, taxing Alaskans who drive, taxing Alaskans who mine, taxing Alaskans who use marijuana, taxing Alaskans who might have a beer after work or at a wedding or whatever, taxing Alaskans who smoke cigarettes, and taxing Alaskans who are involved in fisheries, and it’s in a comprehensive bill before us today. Despite the comprehensive nature of the bill, it addresses a mere five percent of our four billion dollar deficit so my question is why bother.”
Revenue Commissioner Randall Hoffbeck responded…
Hoffbeck: “This would address about $350 million in revenue, we made cuts to the budget you know, $200 – 400 million, the same kind of percentage of the whole issue but it’s just kind of a lot of small pieces adding up to a substantial amount in the end. Of course the biggest piece is the Permanent Fund Protection Act, which is the largest driver in getting us to a solution.”
He says legislators could break the pieces out again, but treating them as a package provides an opportunity to consider them as a whole.