Taxing discovery: Thousands of Alaskans using state income tax calculator

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Rep. Chris Tuck, in this morning’s press conference, saying Alaskans are proud of his caucus’ passage of a state income tax.

EVEN YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY IS GOING TO BE TAXED 

The Senate Majority’s State Income Tax Calculator has been used more than 60,000 times in the two weeks since it was released. By Alaska standards, it has gone viral.

Alaskans are getting a strong dose of sticker shock when they see how much they will owe. Everything from your paycheck to your pension and your Social Security check. Nothing is safe from the Walker-Democrat income tax — it taxes just about anything that moves.

But Democrat House Majority Leader and union representative Chris Tuck this morning returned to the wishful theme that Alaskans actually want an income tax. He opened up his caucus’ press conference this morning by telling reporters that Democrats in Juneau took over, took charge, and accomplished what Alaskans sent them there to do.

“They are also proud to see this coalition act,” he said.

But the evidence is not in Rep. Tuck’s favor.  Alaskans do not support the Democrats’ income tax plan, which was designed by Gov. Bill Walker’s Revenue Department.

[Read more: Gov. Walker’s Pomp Tax Plan author hasn’t been made available for questions.]

A recent poll conducted by the Alaska Chamber of Commerce showed that just 16 percent of Alaskans believe new taxes will be good for Alaska’s economy, and 62 percent believe adding new taxes would have a negative effect on Alaska’s economy.

Not surprisingly, the 16 percent supporting new taxes mirrors the number of registered Democrats in Alaska, which is 15.4 percent.

That leaves an overwhelming number of voters opposed: undeclared, nonpartisan, and registered Republicans — for a total of 78 percent of those voters — think more taxes are hurtful, not helpful.

It may be that as Alaskans learn more about the Democrats income tax plan, they become less supportive, which may be why the Governor and House Democrat Majority have not published a transparent explanation of how the income tax would impact Alaskans.

The Senate Majority, however, has created a tax calculator just for that purpose. They want you to know. Alaskans can easily see how much they would owe under the Walker-Democrat plan to fix the state’s budget. Join the 60,000+ voters who have already tried it: