>>And part of that (the $1,200 extra dividend) comes from the windfall tax, yes? ... Palin pushed the windfall oil profits tax through. Right?<<
Alaska 2 biggest sources of revenue from oil production under state leases are:
1) Royalties. I don't follow this closely, but I think we get 1/8 of the oil produced and then sell it to refiners.
2) The Production Tax. This is NOT the kind of windfall profits tax proposed by the national Democrats. Palin proposed a modest increased to the tax. But her Democrat and "maverick" Republican allies in the Legislature boosted it significantly. Palin signed it into law so she is responsible for a substantial tax increase that may be excessive...
Palin: Strengths, weaknesses hit national scene
alaskajournal.com
Palin also went after the petroleum industry for new taxes. Murkowski had increased state taxes on oil producers, but Palin came in with a proposal to tweak and increase the tax law. Palin's own tax proposal was relatively modest but state legislators added changes that boosted its effects substantially. Now Alaska boasts some of the highest taxes on oil production in the world.
Bashing Big Oil is good politics in Alaska as elsewhere, and so far there has been no apparent downside to Palin's initiatives. Over time there may be. It may be that her pipeline initiative with TransCanada will complicate, rather than facilitate, the industry's efforts to build a gas pipeline. If that happens, and the big construction project is delayed, one of Palin's big accomplishments will be hollow.
Likewise her oil tax increase. While it was the Legislature that ramped up the tax, Palin didn't oppose it. The tax is now so high that some industry development projects on the North Slope are being delayed and cancelled. With oil production from the Slope declining at rates of more than 6 percent a year, the state badly needs investment in new oil projects to keep production up.
If the decline rate steepens and oil prices drop, the state's rosy financial situation could turn bleak, which could be a problem with a bloated state budget. If Palin's run for national office is unsuccessful, she may return to Juneau to face big drops in revenue and higher expectations for services from constituents.
Here are other views on the issue...
What Palin Really Did To the Oil Industry
online.wsj.com
Oil companies in Alaska are paying more money in taxes than ever before. The state's oil and gas tax revenues for its just-ended fiscal 2007 topped $10 billion. That's twice as much as fiscal 2006 and four times more than 2004.
Some supporters of Barack Obama see that money coming in and say that John McCain's running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, must have done what Sen. Obama wants to do -- sock those companies with a big fat windfall profit tax. This is a deeply misleading reading of her 2007 tax reform.
Re: Alaska's Oil and Gas Tax
corner.nationalreview.com
Beldar's comments
beldar.blogs.com
Windfall tax lets Alaska rake in billions from Big Oil
seattletimes.nwsource.com |
