Spectrum

Rubber stamp in Juneau gives Murkowski plan teeth

Frank Murkowski did not even wait until the second year to reneg on his campaign promises. This in and of itself would be of minor import were it not that Gov. Murkowski has something no other governor has had in a long time: a same party majority in the senate and the house to rubber stamp his policies. Murkowski is not just running proposals up the flag pole, his Republican legislators have been part of his budget process.

What is Gov. Murkowski's fiscal solution? Is it developing an industrial infrastructure from our gas and oil resources by requiring companies the permanent fund invests in to invest in Alaska to create same? No. His solution is more taxes, the beginning of an assault upon the permanent fund, and a minor reduction in spending. The spending cuts I welcome, but, the taxes I do not.

"No new taxes," candidate Murkowski promised, but Gov. Murkowski now proposes a 12-cent-per-gallon increase in fuel taxes, a $10 tax per studded winter tire purchased, and one will now pay $200 for a state business license fee. And, our real property taxes will again increase as a result of reimbursing only part of the school bonds.

The 12 cents per gallon fuel tax will hit every sector of the Alaska economy as everything moves in Alaska by truck, aircraft or barge. Those of us who commute will feel the bite every time we fuel at the pumps. Winter will mean an additional surcharge of $10 for each studded snow tire.

During the last campaign, I attended forums with Republican candidates Vic Kohring, Scott Ogan, Lyda Green, Bev Masek, Bill Stoltz and Carl Gatto, who all bragged that the school bonds recently passed would be fully reimbursed by the legislature. Gov. Murkowski now says that his administration will pay 90 percent of that promised reimbursement, giving the responsibility for paying the remaining 10 percent back to the local property tax payers of Southcentral Alaska. Do you think that these Republican legislators will buck their leadership to ensure their promises are kept?

Like his predecessor Tony Knowles, Gov. Murkowski believes the oil companies should be exempt from any increase in royalties. Knowles forgave the oil companies $9 billion in back taxes upon his election, yet accrued a spending deficit of almost $1 billion, something I believe that he had absolutely no right to do, given his oath of office. The legislators in office at the time also stand culpable. Gov. Murkowski now fails to even speak of the admitted 57 percent overcharging by Alyeska Pipeline Co. for transportation fees charged against oil moved through TAPS and the oil field infrastructure.

What does the 57 percent overcharge cost Alaska? Using an average of 1 million barrels of crude per day moved down the TAPS for the last 22 years gives an overcharge to the State of Alaska of approximately $16 billion at the low end. Using an average of 2 million barrels per day gives an overcharge of approximately $31 billion at the upper end. These figures represent the potential range of the overcharges to the state. I say overcharges to the state, because this cost is part of the overhead cost used to figure Alaska's royalty. ($1.94 overcharge x 1-2 million barrels per day, x 365 days per year, x 22 years )

It seems to me, that before increasing the tax burden upon the property tax payer, and anyone who commutes to their job, that the Murkowski administration, like the previous Knowles administration has the answer to our fiscal problems before it, but refuses the obvious.

Our permanent fund investments are used to induce the cooperation of companies we have invested in to lobby for the opening of ANWR for oil and gas production. Both the Knowles and Murkowski regimes have stated that such is done.

Using the same logic, what prevents Alaska from using the permanent fund investments to require that these same companies invest in Alaska to develop our oil and gas infrastructure into a petrochemical industry that will benefit all present and future Alaskans?

There is up to $40 billion to be recovered from the oil industry. ($16 billion minus $31 billion, plus $9 billion that Knowles had no right to forgive).

I now ask, "What fiscal crisis?" Why do we need new taxes?

Larry Wood is a Palmer resident.