Moving Alaska Forward
Juneau – Starting Monday, Representative Geran Tarr (D-Anchorage) will host events across the state for the third annual Alaska Food Security Week. The theme is “All About Alaska Grown” and will celebrate local food producers, Alaska’s agricultural history, and future opportunities for increasing the state’s local food initiatives.
Read moreJuneau – Today, the Alaska House of Representatives approved a resolution urging Congress to pass legislation to open the 1002 study area of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) for oil and gas exploration and development. House Joint Resolution 5, sponsored by Representative Dean Westlake (D-Kotzebue), passed the Alaska House of Representatives by a vote of 31-4. The resolution was co-sponsored by 12 members of the Alaska House.
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Right now, the oil industry is required to pay a minimum tax rate of 4% for every barrel they pump out of Alaska, and this 4% is not a fixed rate. Corporations can apply subsidies and concessions to reduce the cost of doing business in Alaska, and that minimum 4% tax rate? It’s flexible. In addition to this flexible minimum tax, our current oil and gas tax system has overly generous subsidies that have become unsustainable. The intention was to offer economic incentives to small oil companies as a way to encourage oil production because the Big Three aren’t doing as much exploration and development work and production is down.
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