Governor Parnell introduces cruise ship head tax reduction bill

Governor Sean Parnell on Thursday, March 25, submitted legislation aimed to boost tourism and stimulate the economy in Alaska. However, the bill is trying to strike a portion of the cruise ship head tax that could potentially bring money into Talkeetna.The bill would reduce the passenger’s head tax from $46 dollars to less than $34.50. There are further cuts to make up for local head taxes in Juneau and Ketchikan, which would bring the final head tax to 19 dollars per person.

The head tax was endorsed by Alaskan voters per ballot measure in 2006. It went into effect in 2007 and brought roughly $46 million annually to the state’s coffers. Under current law, a quarter of this money is distributed by the legislature to tourism-related projects in communities impacted by the cruise ship industry. However, Talkeetna never applied for funds from this regional cruise ship impact fund. In Talkeetna, three projects come to mind that would qualify for head tax funds. For years Talkeetna residents have tried to get bathrooms at the Village Park, a makeover of the railroad downtown depot and an interpretational display at the overlook on the Spur Road.

Susan Bell, special assistant with the Governor’s office said that while Parnell’s bill would do away with the 25 percent that would go into the regional cruise ship impact fund, there still is a way for those communities to get a piece of the pie. The proposed bill says that the legislature may appropriate money from the commercial vessel passenger tax account not only to state-owned port and harbor facilities but also other services and infrastructure. Bell said that part of what the governor is trying to do is reverse the decline of tourists visiting Alaska. She said the decline is not solely to blame on the cruise ship head tax, but on a combination of things, including the corporate income tax, gambling tax and changes to stricter environmental regulations. She said that the Parnell administration is trying to be more responsive to what they hear from Alaskan businesses and from the cruise ship industry.