MSB nets $3.1M in tax payments

MAT-SU — The Mat-Su Borough will receive $3.1 million as part of the 2016 Interior appropriations budget as part of the Payments in Lieu of Taxes program.

The payment declined slightly from 2014 when the borough received $3,450,615 and $3,216,649 in 2013. It’s part of a total $26.2 million the Department of the Interior will pay to local jurisdictions in Alaska as compensation for federal lands within their jurisdictions.

The Payments in Lieu of Taxes program provides monetary compensation to local governments that contain National Forests, Bureau of Land Management public lands, National Parks and other lands dedicated to water resource development projects. The revenue helps local governments provide vital services, such as firefighting and police protection, construction of public schools and roads, and search-and-rescue operations.

In the Mat-Su, Denali National Park is the biggest chunk of federal land included in the program.