Alaska house candidate Steven Samuelson is in favor of keeping the state’s oil tax rewrite in place. Opponents hope to repeal that tax cut through a referendum on next year’s Primary ballot. In an interview with KFSK this month, the Petersburg republican said he does not want to see the measure repealed.
Samuelson is one of two candidates running next year for a newly reorganized house seat representing Sitka, Petersburg, Craig and more than 20 much smaller communities. The other candidate is incumbent Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins of Sitka, a staunch opponent of the oil tax cut.
The legislature and Governor approved the legislation this past session. It replaced the current tax regime known as ACES, Alaska’s Clear and Equitable Share, which was put in place under former governor Sara Palin. According to Alaska Department of Revenue estimates, the change will mean the loss of more than four billion dollars over the next six years.
Samuelson sees the tax cut as a way to spur oil development. Matt Lichtenstein recently spoke with the local legislative candidate about that and other issues:
For downloadable, mobile-friendly audio, click here.
That’s Republican Steven Samuelson, who is running for house district 35 which includes Petersburg, Sitka, Craig and many smaller communities. The new district is part of Alaska’s revamped redistricting plan which still needs to clear a legal challenge before its final. The incumbent candidate is Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins of Sitka. We featured an interview with Tomkins when he visited town earlier this month.
