Regarding the proposed 3% sales tax headlined in the ADN June 12: I would like to see more specific information. Who are the specific “business leaders assembled by the Anchorage Economic Development Corporation?” I suspect that they are Downtown investors who would benefit from improvement projects financed by all taxpayers.
So they estimate that the new tax might raise $180 million. How does that compare to the total (known) municipal income from property taxes?
If the entire $180 million were used to reduce property taxes, by what percentage would property taxes be reduced? You can bet that only some of the new tax would be applied to reducing property taxes, and that might well be quietly reduced over time, while parts of the tax would be used for projects enhancing Downtown Anchorage.
The tax is suggested to end in five years; that makes me laugh more than reading the comics page. In the long run, I would bet that the total tax revenue in six years from combined property, sales and other taxes is substantially greater than it is now. And it may be more of a burden on fewer residents of Anchorage. The AEDC has not had stellar results in improving the population or the economy of Anchorage over the past decade.
— John Frost
Anchorage
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