I feel I need to share the following... Thanks Chaz Rivas. We have to kill Governor Parnells oil tax giveaway. SB 21- Ever since statehood we have relied on Alaska’s resources to fund public education and transportation infrastructure. Our Constitution even states that Alaska resources belong to Alaskans. If you agree with this, as I hope most Alaskans do, then why is Parnell getting away with handing over one billion dollars of our oil resources to the oil companies? The billion dollar giveaway, which would defund much needed programs like education, doesn’t require oil companies to do anything more than what they are doing now for oil production. What are the consequences of the giveaway? First, look at impacts on our education system. From 2010-2013, Anchorage lost 219 teachers. Fairbanks North Star Borough lost 13, Juneau Borough lost 88, Kenai Peninsula lost 29, Kuskokwim lost 42 and Mat Su Borough lost 46. We lost these many teachers due to budget cuts. Giving away a billion dollars per year is equivalent to eliminating nearly all state investment in education. So the question is, where will that money come from? The answer is you. Alaskans will have to pay for the corporate tax break and it’s not fair to any of us if we don’t get anything out of the deal. Second, Parnell’s claim is that by giving the oil industry money for nothing it will make them want to explore and drill here. The fact is, it does not matter how much more money we give them because it already is very profitable to drill in Alaska. We have more oil investment coming to Alaska right now, and high numbers of people working in the oil industry. Alaska’s only way to remain competitive is with its people. We need to invest in our education system without taxing the middle class for it. We can invest in education by using our oil resources to fund it. However, the oil giveaway creates big risks for our state budget. If Parnell’s giveaway passes, Alaska will be on a road to bigger deficit spending then ever before. This giveaway would be particularly harmful because we already are dealing with sequestration cuts coming from Washington. Finally, let’s look at the current tax system ACES. Since passing, ACES has brought in additional revenue of 15 billion dollars for the state. It has been very good for industry for a number of reasons, one being that it protects the companies and protects the people with a fair and balanced tax system. ACES provides tax incentives for new oil exploration and production. It’s quite simple: the more companies invests into Alaska the less taxes they have to pay. This encourages the corporations to hire more Alaskans and drill more for the state. Unlike ACES, SB 21 gives away money for nothing. It is disappointing that Senator Dunleavy and Senator Huggins voted for it. By supporting the giveaway they voted for state deficits and against education investment. I hope Mat-Su House members vote against SB 21.
Posted on: Mon, 04 Aug 2014 00:09:30 +0000
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