The House on Wednesday took its first serious first look at the Senate bill that would separate the state’s oil and gas taxes. Senate Finance Co-chair Bert Stedman (R-Sitka) recapped for the House Finance members how the current oil and gas tax structure developed over the years. He said that – because of tax breaks and the progressive nature of the tax — the structure will lead to a potential risk to state revenue when possible gas producers begin to use a large-diameter gas line from the North Slope to Canada. Stedman puts the possible loss somewhere between two and three Billion dollars a year – under current market prices. In previous testimony, in other committees, the Parnell administration has said the tax break is in place as an incentive. Stedman disagrees.
Dave Donaldson, APRN – Juneau
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