Last month, Assembly Members Felix Rivera and Randy Sulte unveiled a substitute version of their AO 2024-105, the Project Anchorage 3% sales tax that the sponsors say will be temporary.
Two town halls this week are devoted to the subject of the Rivera Sulte Tax on Anchorage consumers:
If approved by a two-thirds vote of the Assembly, the ordinance would send the sales tax question to municipal voters.
Project Anchorage is an initiative developed by the Anchorage Economic Development Corporation that proposes to enact a temporary 3% sales tax that proponents say will give property tax relief and fund the development of local projects picked by the Marxist-dominated Assembly of Anchorage.
Taxing our way to prosperity // solvency is “NO” solution!
Temporary! Haha
Democrats taxes are NEVER temporary DO NOT TRUST THEM read the fine print Their will be something in it Like the funnel into their pockets
There is no such thing as a temporary tax. Growing up in the Bay Area and Seattle area, every tax is made permanent and added to it. If property tax is reduced, rest assured later Assembly’s will raise the rate to deal with the “new revenue”. Never ever give liberal governments another avenue to tax. They will always maximize it. Look at State of Washington. Their state constitution does not allow income tax but they are now taxing capital gains saying “this is not income”. NEVER EVER VOTE ANOTHER SOURCE OF TAXATION.
3% is just a starter number. I just got back from the downtown mall. It is sad. The food court has 4 businesses open – about half the mall is empty and no Nordstrom’s which as I understand it, Democrat Mayor Berkowitz attempted to squeeze more money out of Nordstroms for rent, so instead of getting rent for the last 6 years, the building has sat empty as Nordstrom decided it wasn’t worth staying in Anchorage. Every time Anchorage loses a business, the city loses revenue., our property taxes go up and now the City want a sales tax, the state legislature wants a state income tax and to take our PFD. Democrats, what’s not to like? They hate Capitalism but they sure love money
Correction…. they sure love OTHER PEOPLE’S money.
Downtown Anchorage is dismal! Nothing to go there for anymore and feels sketchy as well. So sad to see the our city in decline!!
It will NOT be temporary. We need DOGE in Anchorage! Can we please get Elon to come to Anchorage?
Any bets on the Assembly shutting down citizens and closing testimony early like they have done so many times in the past?
Valley retailers are PRAYING that Anchorage enacts a sales tax. After your $.10/gal gas tax, I have not bought gas in Anchorage. For less $ I can support my neighbors. Win/win! Except for you guys…
Grew up in Anchorage/Eagle River and LOVE this place and am utterly disappointed to see my hometown turn into just another boring, overtaxed, cookie-cutter, homeless-enabling, leftist sh*thole.
Off to greener and more conservative pastures once I retire.
Personally, I am not opposed to a sales tax in Anchorage. However, I AM opposed to one concurrent with property taxes. They can promise right now that “it will only be a small sales tax of 3%, and we’ll limit/lower property taxes”, but all it takes is a couple years of that, and the assembly will find a way to break that promise. The evaluations will go up, then the mil rate, and then they’ll increase the sales tax percentage. In a handful of years (or less) we would be paying as much (or more) in property taxes as we are now, AND a sales tax of 3% (likely more). If they want a sales tax, then eliminate property taxes entirely and make it a higher percentage.
Let the freeloaders continue to freeload. Make only responsible property owners bear the burden. The freeloaders will keep voting for bonds they never have to pay for.
It’ll only be 3% ……. Temporarily.
So Randy Sulte, the supposed “moderate”, is advocating for this sales tax along with PigMan, er, Felix Rivera? Do we now have the Marxist Ten?
You mean delphi meetings, Randy?
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Yes, we know all about delphi meetings, packed with your screaming-thug pals to ram the Rivera-Sulte tax down our throats while exempting parasites who’ll never pay a dime of it.
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Can we please skip the old pee-stained lies about property-tax reductions, needy schools, and it’s only 3% and we’ll never, ever pay more than 3% even if schools go broke?
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Parasites? Yes, invasive species like Alaska’s Ruling Class, welfare queens, public-employee unions, bums, lobbyists, casino owners, Native corporations, non-profits, union members, and NGO’s who either won’t pay a dime of it, or get pay raises to offset it.
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No? How come, Randy (forget Felix, there’s a lost cause), those Special People get off scot-free while you penalize everyone else for buying stuff in Anchorage?
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How stupid must one be to miss the point of Eaglexit, to miss the point of what we voted for last November, to forget what your bast.. nasty pals did to our economy during China flu, from which we –were– just starting to recover?
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Such a Class A moron yourself, to believe productive people elected you just to stiff them with more taxes to reward city government and education-industry officials who show us time and again they’re accountable to no one for what they do with taxpayers’ money …and children!
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And that’s before we get to why, Randy, you’d rather stiff people with more taxes than commission a DOGE forensic audit of city and school-district finances to find out where our money’s actually stashed
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…and figure out why someone who works for the Assembly gets to “count” votes for Assembly members’ “re-elections” …and count votes for more taxes which the very same Assembly members, such as yourself, want.
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Yes, DOGE, you thought we forgot … DOGE doesn’t apply to Anchorage’s Ruling Class, …Anchorage’s FUBAR’d election system will stay FUBAR’d forever because no one, least of all yourself, will ever blow the whistle on it, bring down your house of cards?
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More fool us, thinking you were one of the good guys, Randy.
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Sure and we figure you to stiff us with your damned tax for you must know how Anchorage’s corrupt election system insulates you and your mob from angry voters, how easily the ballot “count” can be accidentally tweaked just a teensy bit anywhere along the line to get your damned tax over said line, how gullible people are seemingly desperate to believe anything your mob say about voter turn-out and ballot count.
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Anchorage’s very own In-Sulte Tax. Nice ring to it, no? Make of it what you can before someone blows the whistle on the brand-new chapter of waste, fraud, and abuse about to be written in your name.
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We’ll get over it, live long enough to see you tossed along with your damned tax, but you’re stuck with it forever, you own it, and for that, we pity you, lad.
Anyone that actually believes their sales tax will be temporary is a straight on fool.
Dan, you are correct! Your buddy Chris from way back agrees.
Dan speaks the truth. Go Ducks!
Ah the old bait and switch routine. The Anchorage assembly push for a 3% sales tax will hit the ballot and without surprise be approved by the Anchorage voters. The sales tax will not lower property taxes and will be forever. But it’s only 3% most people will say…then reality strikes them on big ticket item purchases.
I went to this town hall last night. Both assemblymen were gushing on about how this will help decreaas the disparity (while proposing a tax program that will do the exact opposite) They both want MORE city funded programs. None of which have helped anyone yet except the assembly direclty.
There were one or two hippies that wanted more laws and money thrown at housing.
I suggested that within their proposed sales tax that it will reduce property tax.. except EMPTY commercial spaces. That got an interesting response. Apparently, that would violate state tax laws that cannot distinguish between the types of property taxes. But there is a pending proposal/bill on the docket.
North Pole started with 2 or 3%. They are now at 5.5%.
Okay – more government taxes on the table.
Guarantees:
. Public testimony (a legal check mark for an issue that the assembly has already decided it will happen).
. Sales Tax will do so much to help Anchorage (add more government).
. Sales Tax will be temporary (has anyone seen a guaranteed end date).
. Sales Tax will lower property taxes (has anyone seen a guaranteed lowered amount that is ‘fair’)
. Sales Tax will get to be on a ballot (but lazy voters will not pay attention).
. Sales Tax will be collected from businesses who sell goods (it will be another responsibility to report/pay)
Facts:
1. First off: Does anyone trust the mail in ballots liberally handed out in Anchorage?
2. What liberal time period will be allowed to make sure that all mailed in ballots are received?
3. How long will it take city employees to liberally count all the mailed in ballots?
4. How many concerned Anchorage voters will pay attention and vote?
5. How will the issue be buried on a ballot or worded to make a YES vote mean NO or NO vote mean YES?