Updated: 2 minutes ago Published: 2 minutes ago

Late developments in this campaign season remind us of the statement often attributed to Mark Twain: “A lie can travel halfway around the world before the truth can put on its shoes.” We want to set the record straight and address the lies surrounding Alaska oil taxes.

In 2014, we joined more than 500 Alaska businesses and leaders from across the state to oppose a ballot measure that would have reversed Alaska’s current oil tax structure (Senate Bill 21). That ballot measure failed because voters across the country — from Fairbanks to Anchorage to Utqiagvik — wanted to avoid a return to a period of dangerously low oil production that would have dealt a body blow to Alaska’s economy.

Now, 10 years later, the same old rhetoric invoking a long-debunked “gift” to the oil companies has resurfaced, along with outrageous claims that the current oil tax structure is somehow the reason four Fairbanks schools are closing. We proudly maintain our support for oil tax reform that passed a decade ago. We are doing this because the facts show it was the right decision for Alaska’s economic future.

The truth is plain to see for anyone who takes the time to do the research. Even through tumultuous fluctuations in the price of oil and a global pandemic, Alaska’s oil production has not declined drastically under the current tax system reaffirmed by voters 10 years ago. Instead, we have maintained a tax system that has proven to be competitive and attractive to investors at high and low oil prices, leading to increased activity, both in existing and new fields.

And this increased activity is paying off today; oil production has halted its freefall and stabilized over the past decade at just under 500,000 barrels per day. Even more interesting are the two major discovery wells that were drilled in the Pikka (2013) and Willow (2016) fields. Billions of dollars are now being spent on these megaprojects, and these new fields will dramatically increase the amount of oil flowing through the pipeline, as the state predicts that oil production will increase to 600,000 barrels per day by 2032, a level that has not been achieved in more than 20 years.

More production leads to more oil royalties – which means billions of dollars in direct deposits into the Permanent Fund. No other industry remotely compares to oil’s direct contributions in support of dividend payments.

But let’s talk about what’s most important to Alaskans—especially to us as former labor leaders and current small business owners—is spending, economic activity, and jobs for Alaska.

Today, industry spending supports more than 1,000 Alaskan businesses. With billions being spent on the North Slope right now, some contractors report they’ve been busier than they were during the pipeline days nearly 50 years ago. Today, it is difficult for trade unions and employers to meet the demand for workers, which is a problem we welcome.

The absolute last thing Alaska needs is to reverse course and put the brakes on the exciting momentum of growing our economy and creating new economic opportunities for Alaskans.

The resurgence of the oil industry is one of the bright spots in Alaska’s economy today. Don’t be misled by the fakes being thrown over the airwaves in the waning hours of this campaign season. Let’s keep Alaska growing, now and into the future.

Rick Boyles, Rick Mystrom, Linda Leary and Bob Berto were co-chairs of the successful campaign no. 1 of 2014. Boyles (Fairbanks/Anchorage) is the former head of Alaska Teamsters Local 959, Mystrom (Anchorage) is a businessman and former mayor of Anchorage, and Leary (Anchorage) and Berto (Ketchikan) are small business owners .

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