State shared fishery taxes are of critical importance to Southwest Alaska fishery dependent communities.
Unalaska shared fish taxes make up 26 percent of Unalaska 31 million GF revenues. Unalaska provides the services to help support the nation’s largest commercial fishing port that supports harvesters, onshore, and offshore processors. We use the fish and sales tax revenues to pay our own way, we fund port and harbor upgrades, utilities improvements, roads, the school district at the cap amount, city facilities and many local non-profits.
Who will step in to assist fishery dependent communities across the state if these revenues go away? Will it be the State of Alaska? I think not! I believe we must cut the dividends and look at raising new revenues before putting more burdens on communities to balance the budget.
With the lack of State of Alaska capital project funds, communities have taken over formerly funded state services, maintenance of roads, harbors, and many health and human services issues. Most fishery dependent communities have local sales taxes, high mill rates, and local fishery landing taxes.
I bet if you ask the seafood industry, who they would want half of their fish tax dollars to go to, it would be to the communities they work with, and not the State of Alaska. Please remember that fishery dependent communities across Alaska produce 56 percent of the nation’s seafood 5 billion pounds! We need to keep Alaska coastal communities strong, not hurt them!
—Mayor Frank Kelty
City of Unalaska/Port of Dutch Harbor
