On Tuesday night, Dec 2, the public gathered at the Loussac Library Assembly Chambers to discuss the Municipality of Anchorage’s proposed 3% sales tax. The Assembly did not vote on the proposal at this meeting but instead chose to extend public hearing to January 13, 2026. According to Assemblyman Christopher Constant: “The intent of the sponsors is to continue the public hearing… to allow more time for public process and conversation.”
Public hearing on Ordinance No. AO 2025-133 lasted a little over 1 hour with each person receiving a maximum of 3 minutes to speak. Here is a sampling of what the public testified regarding the proposed 3% sales tax:
Support for the 3% Sales Tax
Anchorage resident, who is a private property owner, small business owner, and spent 24 years in law enforcement: “I strongly support this ordinance. I strongly support the things we do for the city to run it in the right way.”
Representative from Covenant House Alaska: “We are here to speak in support of the proposed sales tax… Stabilizing childcare providers and expanding access will help young parents remain employed, support their families and avoid future homelessness.”
Anchorage resident from Fairview neighborhood: “We take care of the most homeless in Alaska. I see that all the time. I think this is a very good tax… I think this is a good way to take the burden off the people in Anchorage.”
Requests for Revision/ Clarification
Anchorage resident, who was born and raised in Anchorage and recently moved back from Nevada: “I think the public would love to know exactly why this 1, 1, 1 is needed and have good information about that so they can make a decision.”
President and CEO of Foraker, Lauri Wolf: “Alaska’s nonprofits are significant economic drivers in the municipality. We represent 11% of the municipal’s employment base and 10% of employment on average across Alaska.” Wolf asked the Assembly to revise the ordinance to exempt non-profits from the sales tax and to make the exemption process easy, online, and at no cost to non-profits.
Opposition to the 3% Sales Tax
Anchorage resident from Midtown neighborhood: “I strongly oppose this new tax. Government spending is notoriously inefficient. If you wanted to provide property tax, you could simply lower the property tax.”
Eagle River resident: “I’m here to speak against the proposal for 3% sales tax. The concern is not with the goals of supporting childcare, housing, public safety, or property tax reduction. These are very real needs. My concern is with the structure of the tax and the long-term damage that rigid earmarks inflict on Anchorage’s fiscal resilience… if Anchorage ever adopts a sales tax, it should strengthen our fiscal future, not reduce it. This AO does not do that. I urge you to reject this ordinance or substantially revise it before placing on the ballot.”
Former Attorney General and Candidate for Governor, Treg Taylor: “This tax proposal is bad for Anchorage. It is bad for Anchorage families… You don’t stimulate economy by taxing it. You don’t encourage families to stay in Anchorage by taxing them. The new tax reflects unwillingness by Anchorage to tighten its own fiscal belt, despite Anchorage families having to make hard decisions on their budgets every day due to increased costs for goods, services, housing, and energy.”
Senior from Service High School, testifying for the first time: “Implementing a significant new tax for the municipality of Anchorage is the wrong move at this time… Our focus for Anchorage should not be on taxation, but it should be growing the economy and the private sector for revenue.”
Anchorage resident: “What is bad about this tax? You get it started; where does it end? It’s not going to. It’s just going to keep rising and rising and rising… Clean up your wasteful spending, and once you’ve done that, then if you need tax revenue, come back with that. Put it out for general vote.”
These quotes were taken from the first 10 testimonies. Many more testimonies were given at the meeting. You can watch the full public hearing below (3:54:05-5:15:55):
Assembly Regular – December 2, 2025 – 2025-12-02 17:00:00