Representative
CHRIS TUCK

I’m Here for You

I want to hear from you,
share your thoughts, voice
your opinion. Together we
will make a difference.

Click here to visit my Website
 
Click here to write me an email

Call me anytime:
   (907) 465-2095
   Toll-Free (866) 465-2095

Visit me:
   May-December
   716 W. 4th St., Ste. 340
   Anchorage, AK 99501
   (907) 269-0242 fax

   January-April
   State Capitol Bldg. Rm. 422
   Juneau, AK 99801
   (907) 465-3810 fax

Contact Other Elected Officials:

Governor Parnell,
Anchorage Office:
907-269-7450
EMAIL: Gov. Sean Parnell
www.state.ak.us

Senator Lisa Murkowski,
Anchorage Office:
907-271-3735,
EMAIL: Sen. Lisa Murkowski

Senator Mark Begich,
Anchorage Office:
907-271-5915
EMAIL: Sen. Mark Begich

Congressman Don Young,
Anchorage Office:
907-271-5978
EMAIL: Rep. Don Young

Historic Gamble to Give Away Alaska's Oil Wealth

Dear Neighbors,

In a clear betrayal of public trust, last Saturday shortly after 2 a.m., a majority of members in the Alaska House of Representatives made the disastrous decision to give away a massive share of Alaska’s oil wealth to the most powerful and profitable corporations in the world—with no promise or guarantee of increased production or more oil in the pipeline.

Under this legislation, Alaska will descend into deficit spending for the known future and quickly begin burning through the savings we have been able to put away under our current revenue structure (ACES). This will result in cuts to schools, public safety, road construction and repairs, and other essential services. Our property taxes will rise due to the loss of state revenue sharing, and the Permanent Fund Dividend will be under threat.

This does not need to happen. Our current oil tax structure has been working very well for Alaska and for the oil industry, and at the most, needs minor adjustment. North Slope Employment is at an all-time high. The industry has been making record profits in Alaska. Investment and exploration have been soaring. Our profits-based tax guarantees that companies make money – if they don’t make a profit, they don’t pay any taxes, period. Our incentives for new development are the strongest in the world—the state takes on a huge share of the financial risk of any new development and pays most of the costs if it is not successful.

Late into the night, I and several other legislators offered a series of amendments on the House floor in an attempt to soften the impact this bill will have on our economy and our future, but all were rejected by the majority. To no avail, we attempted to restore fiscal “progressivity,” which quite fairly increases the state’s share of revenue at extremely high oil prices. Without success, we attempted to protect the tax breaks for new oil fields, rather than give additional tax breaks for the legacy fields which are already immensely profitable. We attempted to sunset this legislation, so that if this reduction in taxes does not ultimately result in increased oil production we can return to getting our fair share. All of these amendments were rejected.

The session is now over and I am packing up to move back into my Anchorage office. I will soon be having a constituent meeting to share what happened this session. And my Tuesday morning “coffee with Chris” will begin soon.

Please keep in touch. I am here for you.

Warm regards,

Chris Tuck
Alaska State Representative
District 29 – Anchorage