By BOB MAIER – OPINION

Proposition 14 on the April 4 Anchorage Municipal Ballot proposes to amend the Municipal Charter by removing the taxation on marijuana from the tax cap calculation.

In Anchorage the terms for the sale and marketing for marijuana were approved by voters with the express promise in the ballot language that the new revenue provided by the taxation would fall under the Anchorage tax cap.

Now here we are just a few years later with a proposition before us to be voted upon which will back-track on the ballot language that was approved by voters.

In 2023 the taxation on marijuana received by the Municipality will roughly be $6,000,000, which will reduce the burden on property taxpayer’s dollar for dollar.  If passed, Prop 14 will result in an increase of $68 in the annual property tax bill for every home worth $400,000. That’s because Prop 14 would remove $6,000,000 from the tax cap according to numbers provided by the municipality.

This information is not included in the ballot language as the Anchorage Assembly deleted it in the S-2 version of the enabling Ordinance 2022-17 as passed on January 24, 2023.

Make no mistake about it, despite the way it is being sold, Prop 14 is a significant property tax increase.

What exactly does Prop 14 propose? The ballot language dedicates the revenue from the marijuana tax to be utilized for “Child Care and Early Education,” along with creating an “Accountability Board of Child Care and Early Education.”

Do we really need to create more bureaucracy in our education system?

If Prop 14 passes, this new “Accountability Board” will surely see the need for increased revenue as their number one priority for this brand-new Anchorage Municipal Program.

In 2009, voters approved the “Repair Our Tax Cap Initiative” with a 62% margin, reversing the attempt by then Mayor Mark Begich to alter the tax cap calculation.  In 2016, voters approved another “Repair Our Tax Cap Initiative” by a similar 62% vote to reverse yet another attempt by Berkowitz to alter the tax cap calculation.

Utilizing “Child Care and Early Education” as a Trojan Horse to unlock the voter approved provisions of our tax cap will haunt Anchorage property taxpayers.  If Prop 14 is approved, you will certainly see future proposals to dilute our tax cap even further utilizing this same formula.

Let us respect the initial promise made by the Municipality of Anchorage, the one approved by voters and keep the marijuana tax inside the tax cap calculation.

Vote NO on Proposition 14.

The views expressed here are those of the author.

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