In my latest column for State Tax Notes, I outline several bills to increase taxes introduced during the 2021 sessions of the Legislature, and discuss the status of the government’s repayment of rebatable tax credits, two packets of regulations promulgated by the DOR, and a preliminary revenue forecast issued by the DOR for 2022.
Recent Alaska Legislative Sessions Leave Future Unclear for State’s Taxpayers
By Jonathan Iversen on
In my latest column for State Tax Notes, I provide an update on the status of the Alaska Permanent Fund and on actions taken during the regular legislative session and three special sessions to attempt to clarify the many questions that exist surrounding Alaska’s fiscal structure.
The Permanent Fund was created in 1976 through an…
Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities Proposes Regulation Changes
By Shannon Bleicher & Ramona Monroe on
Posted in Alaska
The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (DOTPF) issued notice of proposed regulation amendments to Title 17 of the Alaska Administrative Code dealing with rural airport rental and fees.
The existing rental rate regulation applicable to rural airports in Alaska, 17 AAC 45.127, includes a schedule which provides an annual 10% increase to the…
Mandatory Vaccination Policies for Employees: What Can (and Should) We Do?
By Caroline Sundbaum & Willa Perlmutter on
Just a few short months ago, we would have thought that COVID-19 was almost behind us and that it was only a matter of time before mine operators would no longer have to worry about the spread of the disease at their worksites. It looked like face masks and vaccinations had done their jobs, and that we had turned the corner on the pandemic.
It turns out we may have been just a tad over-optimistic. Like every other sector, the mining industry is looking at growing numbers of positive cases. In an environment where employees cannot work remotely; often live in small, tight-knit communities; and (particularly at underground mines) must work in close quarters, mine operators need to consider whether it makes sense to require miners to get the COVID-19 shot.
The mining industry is not alone. While many employers initially were hesitant to institute mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policies, the recent surge driven by the Delta variant and announcements from large organizations—including the U.S. military, United Airlines, and major health care systems across the country—have caused many employers to revisit mandatory vaccination policies.
Continue Reading Mandatory Vaccination Policies for Employees: What Can (and Should) We Do?
Jon Iversen: Trials of the Season
By Jonathan Iversen on
In my latest column for State Tax Notes, I provide an update on Alaska’s budget woes, on possible tax hikes and fiscal uncertainty still faced by the state’s taxpayers, and on the state’s ongoing inability to make payment to holders of over $700 million in rebatable oil and gas production tax credits.
In 2020,…
Jon Iversen Discusses Alaska Supreme Court Decision Overturning Tax Credit Bond Program
By Jonathan Iversen on
In previous columns for State Tax Notes, I have discussed H.B. 331, which was passed by the Alaska State Legislature to remedy the state’s failure to pay off outstanding rebatable oil and gas production tax credits. However, the Bill faced numerous lawsuits, culminating in a Sept. 2020 Alaska Supreme Court ruling that the financing…
Alaska Faces Challenges of COVID-19, Low Oil Prices and Increase in Production Tax
By Jonathan Iversen on
In my latest column for State Tax Notes, I look at the challenges that Alaska, and particularly the state’s oil and gas industry, has faced in 2020 thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, low oil prices and the threat of a major increase to Alaska’s oil and gas production tax.
The state of Alaska is…
Alaska DNR Issues One Year Extension for Certain Mining Payments
By Shannon Bleicher on
The Commissioner of the Department of Natural Resources has issued an Order granting a one year extension for mining payments due under Alaska Statute 38.05.210 (Annual Labor) and Alaska Statute 38.05.211 (Annual Rental).
In response to COVID-19, and in an attempt to stop the spread of the virus, the Alaska Department of Health and Social…
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Proposes Revisions to Section 4 of the Endangered Species Act
By Ryan Steen on
Posted in Mining, Regulation
Of interest to mineral projects, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) continues to attempt to revise some of its Endangered Species Act (ESA) implementing regulations to align with the relatively recent decision from the Supreme Court in Weyerhaeuser Co. v. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Serv. (139 S. Ct. 361 (2018)). Today, it proposed new…
Alaska Oil & Gas Conservation Commission Proposes Changes to Bond Regulation
By Tina Grovier on
The Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (“AOGCC”) is considering revisions to 20 AAC 25.025 of the Alaska Administrative Code. One revision would “allow a reduction in the requisite bond amount if an operator demonstrates that it has a bond in place with the landowner dedicated exclusively to the plugging and abandonment of a well…