Alaska Facing Huge Deficit Without Oil Tax Revenues
Transcript of Alaska Facing Huge Deficit Without Oil Tax Revenues
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8/9/2019 Alaska Facing Huge Deficit Without Oil Tax Revenues
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Alaska Facing Huge Defcit Without Oil Tax Revenues
By Andy Tully
Posted on Tue, 2 !anua"y 2#$% 22' ( #
Alaska, once oil)"ich, no* +aces tough decisions on *hat a"ts o+ the state-s .udget
can .e cut, and *he"e it can fnd othe" sou"ces o+ "evenue to con+"ont defcits it has
neve" +aced .e+o"e/
The a"t)ti0e state legislatu"e, *hose 2#$1 session ended in A"il, had assed a
'/$ .illion .udget +o" 2#$%, .ut since then a .a""el o+ oil has lost 0o"e than hal+ its
value/ Add to that, Alaska gets 3# e"cent o+ its .udget +"o0 oil taxes/ 4o *hen the
2#$% legislative session .egan !an/ 2, the state-s .udget *as 5/% 0illion sho"t/
With an 6# e"cent d"o in oil "evenues since !une, Alaska is ove" a .a""el/ 7t has no
state sales o" inco0e taxes, .ut it does have a kind o+ savings account +"o0
"evious oil "evenues, .ut that 0ay not .e enough to 0ake u +o" the sho"t+all/
Related& 7+ 4hell Backs Out, A"ctic Oil O8 the Ta.le +o" 9ea"s
:;ven i+ you lay o8 eve"y state e0loyee, that only saves us a .illion
The state-s solution, +o" no* at least, is on "aising 0oney, not cutting se"vices,
acco"ding to David Teal, di"ecto" o+ Alaska-s egislative Finance Division/ :The
nu0.e"s ust don-t allo* you to cut you" *ay out o+ this, not *ithout so0e seve"e
i0acts on the econo0y,> he said/
As a "esult, the ne* gove"no", Bill Walke" C "eviously a Reu.lican *hos no* an
indeendent C is conside"ing so0ething anathe0a to 0ost 0e0.e"s o+ his +o"0e"
a"ty& c"eating the state-s f"st inco0e and sales taxes and even "educing Alaska-s
oil *ealth +und, *hich sha"es the state-s oil *ealth *ith vi"tually eve"y Alaskan *ith
an annual ay0ent/ ast yea"-s ay0ent *as $,661 e" e"son/
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:7-0 leased *e have a .u8e", that *e have savings, and 7 give c"edit to those *ho
*e"e in the legislatu"e and the ad0inist"ation that *isely ut 0oney aside,> he said/
:Without that *e-d .e in a ve"y di8e"ent situation/>
By Andy Tully o+ Oil"ice/co0