Letters to the editor

Published 2:30 am Thursday, February 19, 2026

Counting sheep, counting revenue

As a junior at Soldotna High School, the topic of school funding is of the utmost importance to me. The Kenai Peninsula Borough School District is currently facing an over $8 million budget shortfall, so the discussion of new ways to raise revenue needs to be revisited. Taxing short-term lodging has been a topic that has been brought up several times since 2017 and needs to be addressed, once again. Lodging tax, also known as bed tax, is a percentage of tax put on short-term stays, less than 30 days, at places like hotels, Airbnbs and lodges.

There are countless examples of successful communities with lodging tax not only across the U.S, but also here in Alaska. There are 49 cities and boroughs in Alaska that have a bed tax. Out of the 19 organized boroughs in Alaska the only ones that do not yet obtain additional tax on short-term lodging are the Kenai Peninsula Borough, Aleutians East Borough, North Slope Borough, and North West Arctic Borough. The Kenai Peninsula Borough is one the five most populated boroughs in Alaska and the only one of these five not utilizing any kind of short-term lodging tax to fund our current needs.

One argument brought up during the June 18, 2024 Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly meeting discussion implementing a short-term lodging tax was from a business owner. His concern was a lower demand for short-term lodging facilities due to increased prices. After researching this topic I have found nothing that agrees with this concern. We can actually see in Anchorage that even though prices have increased with the additional 12% bed tax, the demand for lodging is still high, in fact, many new hotels are currently being built. Another person testified a bed tax on hotels would cause sports teams to be less likely to come and play within the borough. This is simply not true because when our teams and families travel to Anchorage to participate in sports we are already paying a lodging tax. This speaker finished their testimony by expressing that by utilizing short-term lodging tax we would be destroying youth opportunities within these small towns. I believe that cutting classes, clubs, teachers and coaches because of school funding is going to obliterate youth opportunities in this school district much more than a small tax on visitors.

The topic of short-term lodging tax can be a very useful tool and needs to be brought back for discussion. Not only can a bed tax increase school funding without taxing the local citizens, but it can also assist in funding the landfill and borough maintained roads. Lastly, lodging tax can be used in support of tourism as well by funding some of the attractions drawing people to the Kenai Peninsula.

Kate Cox

Soldotna