Dividend tax proposed as stopgap measure, legislator says

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – Alaskans who receive an Alaska Permanent Fund dividend would pay a 35 percent tax on it under legislation proposed in the state House.

Rep. Kurt Olson says the bill is meant as a fallback if legislators fail to reach agreement on a plan to turn the permanent fund into an endowment of sorts. Olson is chairman of the House Labor and Commerce Committee, which introduced the bill Monday. He says that a 35 percent tax on last year's dividend would have generated about $467 million.

The state faces a multibillion-dollar budget deficit amid low oil prices. Legislators are mullin...