House Takes a Look at Senate's Oil and Gas Proposal

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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