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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsAs Oil Money Melts, Alaska Mulls First Income Tax in 35 Years
ANCHORAGE Oil money no longer pays the bills here.
The governor, facing a profound fiscal crisis, has proposed the imposition of a personal income tax for the first time in 35 years. State lawmakers, who recently moved into a palatial new office building here, where they work when not toiling in the far-off Capitol in Juneau, are now seeking less costly digs.
And a state budget that was a point of Alaskan pride and envy from around the nation lies in tatters as revenue that flowed from selling crude oil from Prudhoe Bay over the past four decades has been swept away.
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http://nytimes.com/2015/12/26/us/as-oil-money-melts-alaska-mulls-first-income-tax-in-35-years.html
hobbit709
(41,694 posts)hatrack
(59,592 posts)The right-wing slopes in AK just can't kiss enough big business ass.
And when the poor, helpless oil companies threatened to up stakes and leave if they didn't get all the tax breaks they wanted, what did the herd of morons do? Why, they voted massive tax breaks to the poor, helpless oil companies, because Freedumb and Jeezus and Ayn Rand.
And what did they get in return for this particular tongue-bath? Job cuts, closing the state's only refinery, and a gigantic hole in the state budget.
Quackers
(2,256 posts)Interesting choice of words. Does anyone have a picture of this building? According to the article, it sounds like they have a wasteful spending problem too.