ALASKA: The commissioner of the state Department of Revenue was in Kenai this week to give a presentation on the scope of Alaska’s fiscal crisis and looking for input from Alaskans to address the issue.
Randall Hoff beck spoke to a joint meeting of the Kenai and Soldotna Chambers of Commerce, and when it comes to looking for ways to ensure expenditures don’t outpace revenue, a roomful of business owners is probably a good place to start.
Hoff beck noted that the biggest challenge is “convincing people that we actually have a problem.”Indeed, Alaskans have gotten used to a relatively low tax burden, no state income tax, and a nice check courtesy of the Alaska Permanent Fund every fall.
Part of the challenge in understanding the problem lies in grasping the scope of a $3.1 billion deficit, but the other part of the challenge lies in just how fast the crisis unfolded.
