The governor’s tax bill (SB 227) was introduced in January, and has since been amended considerably to include provisions that would make oil and gas corporations pay their fair share, and would provide funding for critical services for hardworking Alaskans. The improved version of SB 227, which now bears little resemblance to the original version, incorporates active legislation that was introduced last year such as closing the S-corp loophole (SB 92) and reducing the maximum per-barrel oil tax credit to $5 (SB 112). These are much welcome changes that together would increase the state’s revenue by roughly a half a billion dollars every year by simply requiring oil and gas producers to pay their fair share for profiting off of Alaskan’s resources. These changes are supported by a recent study which found that taxing oil and gas companies would be the best option to address Alaska’s state budget crisis, with the lowest negative impacts on Alaskans’ jobs and income.

In addition to incorporating SB 92 and SB 112, the revised SB 227 would increase the oil tax floor from 4% to 6%. If passed, oil companies would be taxed based on the value of the oil extracted from the state instead of the profits the company gained, which is in line with legislation from many oil producing states like Texas and North Dakota.

We need to stop subsidizing the gangbuster profits of oil companies at the expense of fundamental public services like road maintenance, education funding, and a functional marine highway system. The changes introduced in SB 227 are common-sense and a realistic breath of fresh air in a stagnant conversation about fixing the broken state budget.