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Living Alaska, Taxes
I did not move to Alaska to get away from paying high State taxes. I moved here because I love it here. I can not forget them though, especially because I am a retired CPA. I did not retire from working, but rather sitting in an office 12 hours a day crunching numbers. But the adage Death and Taxes being the only two things in life you cannot avoid is true, but less true in Alaska.
There is no State income tax in Alaska. There are other taxes in Alaska which can drive a newbie to the State a little bonkers at first. Let me explain, I pay taxes on Rent. Say what? They are taxing renters of apartments a tax? Yes, they are in my borough. We pay a sales tax here as well. But hold on, in the other borough’s there is no tax on rent, but the sales tax rate is %2.5 higher but caps at purchases over $10,000. Hmmm, good thing I remember my Common Cents approach to living.
There are taxes in Alaska, but they vary from borough to borough. (Same thing as County to County, or Parish to Parish). Sometimes, it is difficult to figure out the cheapest way to buy something because you might have to ship it to wherever you live. Not all towns have roads or highways reaching them. Shipping costs, although not a tax could kill the benefit of the lower sales tax rate from one borough to the next. If it costs you $3,000 to ship a new Truck to Juneau, you might as well of paid the higher sales tax rate.
