A state sales tax is a bad idea. If anyone thinks that property taxes and, therefore, rents will go down if a state sales tax is instituted, they're living in LaLa Land. I was a Washington state resident when sales tax was instituted with the exact same rationale as is being embraced today by many Alaskans. Property taxes not only didn't go down; the tax burden increased for everyone, and landlords didn't lower their rents. Somehow the "need" rises to gobble up the dollars on hand.
— Penny Burt
Anchorage
Anchorage Daily News