Sponsor Statement for HB 260

The North Slope Borough is a political subdivision of the State of Alaska with a population of about 7157. This year the North Slope Borough will collect nearly $300 million in taxes. That is more than $41,000 per man, woman and child in the Borough.

By comparison the State of Alaska has about 600,000 people and will collect about $2 billion in tax revenues this year. That is a little over $3500 per capita in state revenues.

Bonded indebtedness of the North Slope Borough stands at about $900 million dollars or $125 thousand dollars per person. The State of Alaska has less debt for all of its 600,000 people.

Most of the tax revenues received by the North Slope borough come from taxes on oil production properties located almost exclusively on state lands. The Borough provided little or no service for these lands, the improvements upon them, or the people that make them work.

This represents the greatest inequity in public tax dollars in the history of Alaska and even the United States. Current taxes collected by the Borough for oil production facilities on state land amount to $225 million per year. This is money that could and should be going to improve education, public safety, and transportation services for all Alaskans.

HB 260 is an attempt to rectify a grievous wrong that has been inflicted upon all Alaskans. Never have so few taken so much from so many! It is not to late to correct this inequity.