Anchorage residents will not vote on a new sales tax this year. That’s after the Assembly voted 8-4 Tuesday night to kill a motion that would’ve put the issue on ballots for a special election in September.
If approved by voters, the measure would’ve instituted a 3% sales tax on most goods, with two-thirds going to property tax relief, and the remaining third going toward capital projects around the city. There would’ve been an exemption for Anchorage’s poorest residents, though a mechanism for tracking that wasn’t fully developed.
West Anchorage Assembly member Kameron Perez-Verdia said he supported the idea of a sales tax, but he didn’t feel like the proposal was the right one.
“I don’t think this is a responsible proposal to put before the voters,” Perez-Verdia said. “I think it is too complex. I think it is too difficult to understand. I think we have not worked out all of the kinks.”
The Assembly heard testimony on the proposed sales tax for months and held two town hall discussions on the topic this month. More than a dozen people provided public testimony on the proposal Tuesday night, most in opposition. Many described the sales tax as disproportionately impacting lower-income residents.
Midtown Assembly member Felix Rivera was one of the measure’s sponsors. He said the city should continue to work on a sales tax that has input from a wide swath of residents.
“The community should know this conversation isn’t over, that you will be asked at some point to say yes or no to a tax,” Rivera said.
The sales tax measure is effectively dead after eight Assembly members voted to postpone it indefinitely, with Rivera, fellow co-sponsor Randy Sulte and members Zac Johnson and Karen Bronga voted against postponing.
As the Assembly weighs the potential for a new sales tax proposal, the next city election is set for April 1. Half of the Assembly’s seats are up for election, and four incumbents are not running.
