The Alaska Senate on Friday voted 15-4 to kill an income tax proposed by the House, all but ensuring the Alaska’s multibillion-dollar deficit will not be solved this year.
Most of those in opposition said they refuse to raise taxes on Alaskans during a recession.
“The Senate enthusiastically ended discussion, at least for this year, on the idea of penalizing them for having a job,” Senate President Pete Kelly, R-Fairbanks, said after the vote. “It’s not good for the economy, it’s not good for Alaska, it’s not good for our future. Most of all, it’s not needed.”