Alaska’s first oil severance tax was a simple one percent of gross production. Now days, oil taxes are complicated formulas designed to bring in state revenue as well as encourage more production from declining fields and spur investment in new fields and technology. Nearly 90 percent of the state of Alaska’s income comes from oil, but in the last 20 years production has dropped by two-thirds. And current sky-high prices are only a temporary buffer against declining revenue.
Anne Sutton, KTOO – Juneau
