Thanks for publishing Alexander Hoke’s piece about Alaska’s finances on Jan. 24. His proposal has considerable merit. It offered a proposal and time to execute and adjust to it. We simply cannot thrive and suffer by the fluctuating price of a barrel of oil.
I worry about how a state sales tax might mesh with local ones. As a Juneau resident I could survive with a simple add-on if the state levy was modest enough. My greater concern is how this plan would impact those on the bottom economic rungs. If such a plan was implemented I would hope it could be tweaked to offer relief to those who are apt to be hurt the most.
The late Governor Hammond and others set up a wonderful mechanism in the Permanent Fund. If the eventual struggle becomes either an income tax or a Permanent Fund I would vote for the latter in spite of being hurt the most financially by the choice. But I agree with others that it is probably too late to be either/or. We may have to have both.
Richard Stokes
Juneau
