Officials in Anchorage are beginning to look at a potential new fuel tax as a way to help pay for essential services like policing and infrastructure.
Though there’s no official proposal on the table at this point, on Wednesday (June 7), the city’s Budget Advisory Commission heard a presentation on what a potential fuel tax mightlook like.
Compared to every other state in the nation, Alaska the lowest taxes on gasoline, according to figures presented by the city’s administration to the commission. However, local sales taxes and complicated logistics transporting fuel to remote communities makes the price per gallon vary widely across the state.
In his presentation to the commission, the city Treasurer Dan Moore gave multiple figures for how much revenue would be generated by different tax amounts on a gallon of gasoline. A 10 cent tax would mean around 14 million dollars in revenues. At 18 cents a gallon, around 25 million is forecast to come in. That captures spending by local drivers, as well as commuters from the Mat-Su Valley and seasonal tourists, according to Moore.
The commission may advise the Anchorage Assembly to look at a fuel tax when they take the issue back up. If the proposal takes the form of an excise tax, the Assembly could pass it with a simple majority. Since it would still fall under the city’s tax cap, any revenue generated would likely supplement property taxes. If a proposal calls for a sales tax it would need to go before voters in an election.
Zachariah Hughes reports on city & state politics, arts & culture, drugs, and military affairs in Anchorage and South Central Alaska.
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