Alaskans — businesses and individuals — should pay for the public services they need, not pretend that tax credits are the solution.
Tax credits have long been popular, growing more so every year. Supporters promote them to provide government backing for new initiatives or ongoing programs, steering money to their favorite causes, bypassing actual appropriations by federal, state or municipal lawmakers.
They are an acknowledgement that supporters do not have the political votes to achieve direct federal, state or municipal funding for a particular housing or child care or education program, so let businesses and individuals contribute to the program and reduce their taxes. The century-old public-policy research house notes that the proliferation of targeted credits adds complexity to the tax code. “In addition, tax subsidies tend to breed demand for more subsidies,” the 1999 commentary says.That’s why it’s so discouraging to see Gov.
Dunleavy’s own Revenue Department reported it has no way of knowing how many businesses would take advantage of the expanded tax breaks, but it calculated that if every eligible entity in Alaska donated to the max, the state could lose about a quarter-million dollars a year in revenue.
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