Alaska group pushing for tax on cruise ships

By The Associated Press

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JUNEAU, Alaska — A Juneau group wants to get an initiative on the 2006 state ballot seeking to impose a $50 head tax on cruise ships and require them to get water-pollution permits.

The group, Responsible Cruising in Alaska, filed a petition with more than 29,000 signatures with the state Division of Elections this week.

The group initially wanted to get the proposal on the 2004 ballot.

"It will give Alaskans a chance to come to terms with a very large industry that has grown quickly and has a significant impact on the way we live," said Joe Geldhof, a Juneau attorney and member of Responsible Cruising in Alaska.

The proposal would impose a $50 tax on each cruise-ship passenger and a 33 percent tax on shipboard gambling income. It also would subject cruise ships' dumping in state waters to waste-water permits, which are required for other Alaska industries.

The proposed initiative also would require cruise ships to pay for licensed observers on their boats, much like the Bering Sea fishermen who pay observers traveling on their vessels.

The Alaska Legislature briefly took up a bill to tax cruise ships last year. In 2003, Responsible Cruising in Alaska attempted but was ultimately unable to place a similar initiative on the 2004 ballot.

The 2003 initiative was opposed by the cruise-ship industry. A group called the Visitors Benefit Alaska Coalition has taken out ads in newspapers asking residents not to sign the petition.

On Tuesday, before the petition was officially lodged, Ron Beck of the Alaska Travel Industry Association told Alaska State Chamber of Commerce members in Juneau at their annual convention and trade show that a $50 head tax and gambling tax would hurt Alaska tourism venues' "ability to compete."

Geldhof said the initiative seeks to bring the cruise-ship industry into a level playing field with other industries.
 
Naomi Nelson, an election coordinator for the state, said her division has 60 days to review and verify signatures on the petition. The division will send a memo to Lt. Gov. Loren Leman on whether enough valid signatures — 23,285 — were submitted.

Leman then will decide on whether to certify the petition and place it on the ballot.