According to the Associated Press, a rewritten oil tax bill that sets the base rate at 33 percent passed the Resources Committee of the Alaska House on Thursday.
That 33 percent rate is lower than what the Alaska Senate passed earlier in this legislative session. Also gone is a board that would have been established to review Alaska's competitiveness. Because of those changes, if the full House approves this version it would mean the measure will head to a conference committee to work out the differences.
In addition to the 33 percent base rate, there's also a $5-per-barrel credit available. The credit would also cover oil that qualifies for a 20 percent tax break known as a gross value reduction.
An administration official has said the vast majority of Alaska's legacy fields would not qualify for the gross value reduction. Those areas would have a 33 percent base rate and a per-barrel allowance on a sliding scale -- higher at lower prices, non-existent at higher prices.