Treadwell’s Extreme Tax Would Strangle Alaskans’ Finances

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 07/17/2014

Mead Treadwell wants to implement a 30% national sales tax that would raise prices on every day items and strangle the finances of working Alaska families.

Alaskans could see bills for groceries increase by $100 and $400 in rent while home prices could increase by nearly $100,000.

Republicans, Democrats, and tax experts alike have criticized the scheme. Former President George W. Bush’s administration rejected the proposal and said it would create “the largest entitlement program in history” because of the extreme poverty it would create among lower income Americans.

“Mead Treadwell wants to implement a dangerous national sales tax that would unfairly hit Alaskans who do not face a state sales tax or income tax,” said Max Croes, Communications Director for Alaskans for Begich.

Treadwell’s extreme tax scheme would shift the tax burden from wealthier Americans to lower-income households, strangling the finances of working Alaska families. *

Rural Alaska already experiences some of the highest prices for groceries in the nation. Treadwell’s plan would make trips to the grocery store almost entirely unaffordable.

*Businessweek: “The Fair Tax Would Weigh Heavier On Lower-Income Households.” Reported Businessweek in April 2011, “The FairTax would weigh heavier on lower-income households, because they spend a larger proportion of what they earn. That’s why Woodall’s proposal calls for a ‘prebate,’ a monthly advance rebate that covers the cost of the tax up to the federal poverty level. Compared with the current system, the FairTax would be a boon to the highest earners, who spend a relatively low share of their income each year and would no longer have to pay taxes on capital gains.” [Businessweek, 4/7/11]

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