Republicans Firm on Oil Tax Cut Bill

ANCHORAGE - As the House Finance Committee took up Governor Parnell?s bill for a dramatic reduction in oil production taxes, the administration and the Republican legislative majority emphasized their resolve to get it enacted.

There are just nine days left in the regular legislative session, but House Speaker Mike Chenault says his goal is to get the bill passed and adjourn on time.

The bill would reduce taxes by several billion dollars by the end of the decade, with the desired result that investment on the North Slope would jump.

?We don't care about big oil,? Dan Sullivan, the commissioner of natural resources, told House Finance. ?The only thing we care about is the extent to which they can help us responsibly develop our resources, get more investment here, increase production."

At the House majority?s weekly press availability, Rep. Eric Feige, R-Chickaloon, said, "The worst nightmare I have is that we don't lower [the tax] enough, we lower it just enough that we've given up tax revenue but we haven't lowered it enough to get investment into the state and we haven't made Alaska competitive. So if we're going to err, it's better to err on the low side."

Rep. Dan Saddler, R-Eagle River, made this analogy: "It?s as if we're a ship that has struck an iceberg and we're taking on water, and the lifeboats are here in the form of oil tax reform. Now the long-term prospects for the sinking ship are not good, but it's still kind of dry, the food's still good, and the band's still playing, but the long-term prospects don't look good for the Titanic there.

?You know, the lifeboat may be a little drafty, may be less comfortable, but the long-term prospects of surviving and getting to land and having a prosperous future are better in the lifeboat than in the sinking ship."

Meanwhile, two senators whose employment by ConocoPhillips has been called a conflict of interest defended their crucial votes in favor of the bill.

Senator Peter Micciche noted that he asked for and got an ethics opinion saying he had broken no rules or laws. "I haven't seen much about this advisory opinion in the press. Every day i see something that's irresponsible that doesn't cover the actual issues the way we're required to operate in the Alaska state senate. I see a lot of opinions, as i did this morning in two different publications, but I would really like someone to understand how the systems work.?

Added Sen. Kevin Meyer, R-Anchorage: "And frankly I'm a bit appalled, because last year I voted on oil taxes, and this issue didn't even come up once. Could it be that I was part of a bipartisan coalition last year and it was OK to vote for oil taxes then? This year I'm part of a Republican majority and it's not OK?"

Under the Legislature's rules, lawmakers can declare a conflict of interest but still must vote if any one of their colleagues objects, which invariably happens.

Source: http://www.ktva.com/home/outbound-xml-feeds/Republicans-Firm-on-Oil-Tax-Cut-Bill--201707951.html

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