What you need to know:
- The Mat-Su Assembly rejected three tax-related ballot proposals during a regular meeting Tuesday: a 1.5% sales tax paired with a $75,000 residential property tax exemption, a 6.5% boroughwide sales tax paired with a partial property tax repeal, and a 25-cent-per-ton gravel tax.
- Supporters said the measures would reduce reliance on property taxes by shifting some costs to shoppers, visitors and industry while diversifying borough revenue sources. Opponents said the proposals lacked clear plans to offset potential revenue losses and could harm businesses or create budget shortfalls.
- A 5% alcohol sales tax previously approved by the Assembly will still appear on the November ballot. Assembly member Ron Bernier said he plans to propose a 3% areawide sales tax paired with a property tax cap later this year.
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Matanuska-Susitna Borough voters will not see a new trio of tax proposals on the ballot in November after the Assembly rejected the measures during a meeting Tuesday.
A proposed 5% tax on all alcohol sales in Mat-Su, approved for the ballot earlier this month, will still appear before voters.
The rejected tax proposals included a 1.5% sales tax outside Palmer, Wasilla, and Houston paired with a new $75,000 exemption on some residential properties; a 6.5% sales tax across Mat-Su that would be added to current city taxes and paired with the repeal of one of Mat-Su’s five property taxes; and a 25-cent-per-ton tax on gravel extracted by the region’s largest pit operations…