Alaska - Alberta Tax Challenges Persist Today

Alaska – Alberta Tax Challenges Persist Today

Alaska and Alberta: Punish taxpayers for wealth/job production with more taxes — or — reward bureaucracies and entitlement beneficiaries with tax increases? You decide!

Many public officials and special interests are negotiating spending cuts vs. tax increases in both Alaska and Alberta this weekend. Will the wealth/job producers win? Or, will the beneficiaries of tax supported subsidies and entitlement programs win? The result will determine whether these two great energy producing areas continue contributing to their respective country’s economic power, or whether liberal forces bring free enterprise to its knees. Our readers, because of your influence, can affect the outcome, depending on your degree of commitment, involvement and action. -dh

Alaska State Representative Lora Reinbold provides a video briefing this weekend…

…highlighting the differences among several tax/spend proposals competing for attention during the upcoming last days of the 2016 Alaska legislative session:

Breaking into the Piggy Bank in Alaska!!!!Breaking into the Piggy Bank in Alaska!!!!Please watch this high level video on the Current Cash flow in Alaska, the governor so called “permanent fund protection act”, Sb 114- Sen McGuires attempt to change cash flow in Alaska and HB 224 the Percent of Market Value Plan. These plans don’t really address the underlying problem of massive government but rather kick the can down the road in order to help close the BIG fiscal gap in Alaska! We don’t claim to be experts but we wanted Alaskans to have a high level understanding of some of the options/bills the legislature is looking at and may be voting on in the very near future! This is a very worthwhile video to watch of the Reinbold Report as the politicians get closer to YOUR pocketbook!!!

Posted by Representative Lora Reinbold on Saturday, April 9, 2016

Premier Rachael Notley

Alberta’s liberal premier surprised us (i.e. see yesterday’s commentary), by strongly supporting the fossil fuel production/transportation industry. It is the free enterprise, of course, that has enabled Alberta to be the economic powerhouse of Canada. We believe that her position now does not necessarily signal an easing of her global climate change convictions. But if her words offer only a temporary reprieve of the environmentally extreme attacks on industry, any political reprieve — at a time when low oil prices are decimating Canada’s greatest wealth generator — is welcome. -dh

Calgary Herald/Postmedia. Alberta Premier Rachel Notley levelled a potent attack Saturday against federal New Democrats who would stop all pipelines and shut down the oilsands.

Standing ovations, chants and raucous cheers greeted her as she ascended to the stage during the federal party’s convention in downtown Edmonton. Her powerful speech was an optimistic call to New Democrats to continue fighting for the party and an indictment of Conservative policy, but also a clear plea for pipelines and respect for the oil and gas industry that keeps her province afloat.

Her words offered a rare inspiring moment to a crowd that has spent much of the convention so far lamenting its losses and mulling over the future of federal leader Tom Mulcair.

But Notley — the most successful current leader among New Democrats, by virtue of her upset victory in this province last year — also aimed clear shots at factions within the party that want to see the NDP adopt resolutions that would stop all pipeline development…. More…

About the Author: wpnorthern

Dave Harbour, publisher of Northern Gas Pipelines, is a former Chairman of the Regulatory Commission of Alaska, a Commissioner Emeritus of NARUC, NARUC's Official Representative to IOGCC and Vice Chairman of NARUC's Gas Committee. He served as Gas Committee Chairman of the Western Conference of Public Service Commissioners. He also served as commissioner of the Anchorage Bicentennial Commission and the Anchorage Heritage Land Bank Commission. He earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree: English, at Colorado State University, a Master of Science Degree: Communications-Journalism at Murray State University and graduated from Utility Regulatory School for Commissioners at Michigan State University. He served as a Vice President for Communications and Public Affairs at Alaska Pacific University, taught bank marketing classes at the University of Alaska and was an English teacher at Los Alamos High School. Harbour served in ranks of Private - Captain during a 4-year assignment with the Army in Korea, Idaho, Georgia and Fort Meade and received the Meritorious Service Medal among other commendations. Harbour is also a past Chairman of the Alaska Council on Economic Education, the Alaska Oil & Gas Association Government Affairs Committee, the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce, the Export Council of Alaska and the Department of Commerce's District Export Council. He is a past President of the Alaska Press Club, American Bald Eagle Foundation, Consumer Energy Alliance-Alaska and Common Sense for Alaska. Harbour was instrumental in founding the American Bald Eagle Research Institute (UAS), the Alaska Support Industry Alliance, the Downtown Anchorage Business Partnership, and Arctic Power. He also served as CEO of several small Alaska organizations, including the Anchorage Parking Authority and Action Security, Inc. Harbour is also Chairman Emeritus of the Alaska Oil & Gas Congress. Harbour's wife, Nancy, is a professional, performing arts administrator and his three boys, Todd, Benjamin and William work in the fields of environmental management, energy marketing and medicine.