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On with Alaska? The state I have grown to love and will retire to in once I'm done in Korea has this muskrat coalition that wants to impose a state income tax, abolish pfd (don't really bother me) what else they want to do impose a state sales tax while we pay outrageous property taxes??

It's a combination of oil production on the slope declining, as everyone knew it would, the price of oil declining, as it always does, and the state government bloviating for decades with no regard to the time coming when oil won't pay for extravagant government.

On top of that there have been a lot of imports from around the world and they mostly vote with the gimme dat mentality. There are also economically depressed parts of the state that also have the gimme dat mentality.

Sadly things they are a changing and not for the better.

There are a few true fiscal conservatives in the state government, but they are vastly outnumbered.

It pisses me off to no end that areas like Glennallen pays nothing to support the schools forcing the state to foot the whole bill.. meanwhile those of us living in the Burroughs pay some serious property taxes. This state is going to tax itself out of residents if this coalition gets their way.. I hate to say it but if this keeps up might have to head south, but I hope the voters pull their head out of their asses a we demand a reduction in state budget..

And punished when they don't vote as prescribed.

Wouldn't it be refreshing for there to be no property tax but a user tax. You have kids in school, you pay. Not me.

But if I have to pay, then i want it on a sales tax with NO exemptions other than say over 65 or such, so that EVERYONE pays.

Property tax is a big burden down here and getting bigger.

Don't even start to talk about mexicans with umpteen kids, on all kinds of assistance and all in school, not paying a dime but buying steak and corona with cash....

I can't speak for Glenallen but for Delta, Alyeska sends the State "Payment In Lieu Of Taxes" for the portion of TAPS that is in the local school district. Last I researched, Delta was receiving about half of that PILT back to support local schools.

I don't have a problem with a property. The problem is that the state mandated education with differential funding, and no accountability.

Anchorage and the Matsu pay roughly 50% of school costs with the state picking up the other 50%. Parts of the state with no or limited local taxes, the state pays 100% of education. But that's not the worst of it. You have areas where the locals pay nothing for the schools, and the kids are flown to sporting events on the states dime. And often times those schools have the lowest performance rates in state.

If I were emperor, the first thing would be to define performance standards of schools and if it perhaps we need to go back to regional boarding schools to both improve performance and save money. After that, make local/state split for funding education equal. If you have locations that simply can't afford the government services they consume, then they either need to move to where they can pay for those services, or do without.

I was talking with one of the few fiscal conservative representatives in the fall and she said 10% of the population consumes 90% of the state budget.

Property tax is by far the biggest ripoff I've ever seen.

Just because i've worked my tail off and have 100 acres, but have never had a kid, you expect me, and no one else but property owners to have to go one step further and fund public education. B.S.

But I sure get it, I would not be happy if some areas had to pay 50% or 100% MORE property tax than others.

My parents paid property tax until they died. And the public education sucked so bad they doubled up and paid for a parochial education for me at the same time. What a ripoff.

Wife and I are almost 52 and have paid property taxes since our 20s, and have never had the chance to utilize a single dime of it so to speak.

Look at the bright side rost, at least you can write it off every year.

Property taxes are an onerous concept and is in direct opposition to the concept of private property since property subjected to a tax, is not really your's, but a lease from local govt.

You said it a lot better than I could! When it comes to state income tax be the same deal folks living in the "bush" still be getting over.. a state sales tax those bush villages cry the blues how they are getting screwed...

It certainly might make sense to tax rural towns and villages out of existence. That way the rural folks would all move into town which would be a win for everyone.

I guess.

Maybe.

What?



Let me think about this for a minute....... hmm, sure seems like a fair number of folks I know of who've moved to 'town' (Anchorage/Fairbanks) have ended up in 'low-income' housing (that would be gov-subsidized housing maybe???). Now, I don't know who is paying the property tax on that, or if it is perhaps exempt, but I suspect the burden gets added to city taxpayers.

But actually, all schools in Alaska rely on the Federal government for significant sources of funding. I don't know how much it is these days, and though I despise what seems to be a huge waste of money in many cases where money is spent on sports, I know in times previous, that Johnson-O'Malley funding was not insignificant.

The joy that brings me. LOL

A point that needs to be made again in light of the pushes for more taxes...

IRS rules allow folks to write off income taxes OR sales tax, but not both...

I've said it before, I'm NOT a fan of any new taxes but if one has to be implemented I say a sales tax. That way it hits everyone equally. Possibly have necessities such as groceries and clothing exempt. A cap would also be a good starting point as they have on the peninsula

Sales taxes tend toward equality in application in states areas where prices are generally somewhat level. In this state it is not uncommon for prices to be two to three times higher in some areas where transportation is more challenging. Consequently, a person pays two to three times the tax for the same goods on top of the vastly higher prices. To top it off, many of these areas pay for a part of their municipal costs through a local sales tax.

That's not to say that a sales tax would be the wrong way to go, but it does have more impact in some places than others. Of course a food exemption would affect that too.

Sales tax does not hit out of state slopers.

Pure coincidence that many of these areas consume a higher percentage of tax dollars.

No offence intended, I used to live in the bush, I get it.

I'm very tired of the most expensive to maintain parts of the state paying (relatively)nothing in taxes.



As far as the rest of this thread, the dividend is a part of what's wrong with this state. The sense of entitlement that people get is sad. Even some of my "conservative" friends go from 0 to socialist in 6.9 seconds when you start talking about the dividend.

Ironically, this whole thread is basically an argument over sanctimonious socialism. The state 'gives' to the people rather than the other way around, as in most places. We're simply arguing about who gets more. The majority of revenue taken in by the state comes from resources, not collected off the backs of it's citizens.

Even Alaska's biggest city exists at the expense of other currently or previously thriving parts of the state - as well as major Federal inputs.

I do think Alaska, in general, could benefit from living within its means rather than splurging as much as they have when times are flush. And we could go a long way toward keeping things under control if we'd stop developing things as if we're merely suburbs of Seattle or San Fran or something. I mean, how many home owner's association developments do you need to grow these places? Why are tacky plastic houses okay while T1-11 isn't good enough for snobby DSMF transplants?

As for the dividend, I think there's both good and bad to it. I think having it is generally a good thing in the way it keeps people engaged in protecting the Permanent Fund. OTOH, we basically end up throwing bones to the Feds by accepting it, since significant dollars from it are taxed straight away to the IRS.

And I'd be curious how the governor's slashing of it threw a wrench in Alaska's commerce this fall. You know that various dealers have a pretty good idea what they might expect in terms of sales if dividends are $1000 vs $1500 vs $2000. So what happens when a dealer anticipates and places orders for product based on $1700 only to see the dividend come in at $1000? It would be interesting to hear some of the closed-door banter on that.

No but it does get the out of state tourist. Tourism is the #1 economic driver in Alaska.