Juneau Eyes New Seasonal Tax System Aimed at Cruise Visitors

After doubling the fees that cruise lines pay to dock in the town, Juneau is now pursuing a plan to introduce a new seasonal sales tax system.

According to KTOO, the change is aimed at capitalising on the 1.7 million cruise ship passengers that visit the town every summer.

The new structure would raise sales taxes in the summer months and lower them in the winter, according to the local news website.

After being greenlighted by the Juneau Assembly, the proposal will now be presented to residents later this month.

Assembly members want to hear from locals before deciding whether to put it on a municipal ballot scheduled for October.

Other Southeast Alaskan towns, including Ketchikan, Sitka and Skagway, already adopt seasonal taxes, KTOO said.

Residents and visitors currently pay a five per cent tax on year-round sales in Juneau, the website explained.

If voters approve the proposed seasonal tax system, consumers will instead pay a 7.5 per cent tax in the summer and a 3.5 per cent tax in the winter.

The proposal determines that the summer season starts in April and ends in September, while the winter season runs from October through March.

In June, Juneau agreed to double the fees that cruise lines pay to dock their ships at the city-owned piers.

The change was unanimously approved by the town’s assembly and applies only to large cruise vessels.

At the time, Juneau’s Visitor Industry Director, Alix Pierce, said that the change was aimed at making the dockage fees in the town more competitive with the private sector.

“We know that our rates are definitely low compared to the private docks here, and other ports in the region are also looking at their fee structure,” she explained.

While dockage fees were previously calculated using vessels’ tonnage and length figures, the new rates are based on the ships’ passenger capacities.