Rao bulletin 15 January 2015 html edition this bulletin contains the following articles

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  Alaska is the only state that does not collect state sales tax or levy an individual income tax on any type of personal income, either earned or unearned. Instead, every Alaskan, children as well as adults, receives a payment each year from the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation. Residents can apply online for this money, known as the Permanent Fund Dividend, or PFD, via the myAlaska program. To apply go to https://my.alaska.gov/adfs/ls/?wa=wsignin1.0&wtrealm=https%3a%2f%2fmy.alaska.gov%2f&wctx=rm%3d0%26id%3dpassive%26ru%3dhttps%253a%252f%252fmy.alaska.gov%252fPrerequisiteProcess%253fpubid%253dpfd&wct=2013-01-28T03%3a41%3a37Z&pubid=pfd
  
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  To finance state government operations, Alaska depends primarily on petroleum revenues. The Department of Revenue's Tax Division reports regularly on the state's revenue sources.
  
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  The Department also issues an annual overview of its operations, including new state laws that directly affect the tax division. You can select from various reports at the Tax Division's search page. Refer to http://www.tax.alaska.gov/programs/sourcebook/index.aspx.
  

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  While Alaska does not charge a state sales tax, it does impose a vehicle rental tax text (10 percent on passenger vehicles; 3 percent on RVs), as well as an excise tax of $34.50 per voyage on passengers traveling on commercial vessels that provide overnight accommodations while in Alaska waters.
  
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  On the local level, 62 municipalities collect a general sales tax, with a range of between 1%t and 7%. Specific local taxes and rates are available at the State Assessor's searchable database. Refer to http://commerce.state.ak.us/dnn/dcra/OfficeoftheStateAssessor/AlaskaTaxableDatabase.aspx.
  
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  Contact information for Alaska's municipal taxing jurisdictions can be found in the state's directory. Refer to http://commerce.state.ak.us/dnn/dcra/OfficeoftheStateAssessor/TaxJurisdictions.aspx,
  
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  Other types of local taxes levied include raw fish taxes, hotel and motel "bed" taxes, severance taxes, liquor and tobacco taxes, gambling (pull tabs) taxes, tire taxes and fuel transfer taxes.
  
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  A percentage of revenue collected from certain state taxes and license fees (e.g., petroleum, aviation motor fuel, telephone cooperative) is shared with municipalities in Alaska. For a look at the distribution of these funds, select a shared tax year report at the Tax Division's search page. http://www.tax.alaska.gov/programs/sourcebook/index.aspx
  

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  Alaska is the largest state, but only a small portion of the land mass is subject to a property tax. Only 25 Alaskan municipalities, either cities or boroughs, levy a property tax. The average per capita property tax paid in 2012 in all municipalities, excluding oil and gas properties, was $1,379.
  
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  For its citizens age 65 or older and disabled veterans, Alaska exempts the first $150,000 of assessed value from property taxes.
  
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  Details on local property taxes can be found in Alaska Taxable, the Commerce Department's official annual report to the Alaska State Legislature on local sales and property taxes. Refer to http://www.commerce.state.ak.us/dca/osa/pub/12Taxable.pdf.
  
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  Residents should contact their local assessor's office for specific tax-related information.
  

There is no inheritance tax in Alaska. In accordance with the repeal of the federal state death tax credit, for decedents who died after Dec. 31, 2004, the Alaska Department of Revenue no longer requires executors to file a Preliminary Notice and Report or a copy of the federal estate tax return with the state.

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  Taxpayers can find out the prevailing price of a barrel of oil on the Alaska Tax Division's home Web page http://www.tax.state.ak.us.
  
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  Alaska residents can pay permit and license fees online at no extra cost. Starting in April 2014, the Alaska Department of Revenue will expand the service. Updates will be posted on the Tax Division's TRMS page (www.tax.alaska.gov/programs/programs/index.aspx?55000) as the new service's operational date nears.
  
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  In Alaska, intangible personal property is exempt from taxation.
  

Additional state tax and fee information is available at the Alaska Department of Revenue website http://www.revenue.state.ak.us. [Source: http://www.bankrate.com/finance/taxes/state-taxes-alaska.aspx Jan 2015 ++]

Close Day YTD G Fund $14.6275 +0.01% +0.08% F Fund $16.9970 +0.07% +1.16% C Fund $26.7101 -0.25% -1.68% S Fund $35.7574 +0.03% -1.48% I Fund $23.8649 +0.15% -1.46% L 2050 $14.7674 -0.05% -1.28% L 2040 $26.0899 -0.05% -1.10% L 2030 $24.5753 -0.04% -0.93% L 2020 $22.7401 -0.03% -0.69% L Income $17.4186 -0.01% -0.18% Thrift Savings Plan Returns as of DEC 2014

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  Vet Killer. Kenan Adams-Kinard, 17, pled guilty 7 JAN to murder in the beating death of 88-year-old Delbert Belton, a World War II veteran who survived the battle of Okinawa but was killed in a robbery outside a Washington state bar in 2013.
  
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  WWII Easy Co. Check out http://www.wearethemighty.com/battle-of-bulge-bastogne-wwii-2014-12 to hear what some of the men of Easy Co. who survived the battles had to say about their experiences towards the end of the war with Germany.
  

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