A second sales tax holiday in Ketchikan could come a little closer to becoming a reality on Monday. Ketchikan’s Borough Assembly is scheduled to consider an ordinance that would allow two tax-free days each year.
Ketchikan’s city and borough governments traditionally hold a tax holiday around the time that Permanent Fund dividends are distributed. Ketchikan’s City Council and Borough Assembly greenlit an Oct. 1 tax holiday earlier this summer. (PFDs are scheduled to start hitting bank accounts on Sept. 20.)
But last month, Ketchikan’s City Council approved a second sales tax holiday for early next year. The vote came shortly after the council voted to raise sales taxes by 1.5% in the summer and cut them by 1% in the winter.
That presents a problem. Borough code only allows for one sales tax holiday a year. The ordinance up for a Borough Assembly vote Monday would raise that to two.
If approved, the assembly would need to then approve the March 25 sales tax holiday with another vote at a future meeting.
Ketchikan’s Borough Assembly meets at 5:30 p.m. Monday in the White Cliff Building. The meeting is livestreamed on the borough’s website and local cable channels.
