Property taxes, not sales

Anchorage homeowners face a potential increase in property taxes, again.

City leaders just hit pause on the proposed 3 percent sales tax and are instead pushing a one time education tax levy to keep local schools running. The Anchorage School District is staring at an eighty three million dollar budget shortfall, and this move is meant to close part of that gap fast.

If voters approve it in April, property taxes would go up about twenty seven dollars per one hundred thousand in assessed value. That means a four hundred thousand dollar home would see roughly a hundred dollar increase for the year.

The mayor says this is a short-term fix, not a long-term solution, and that classrooms and staffing are on the line if it fails.