All states must bring in revenue somehow in order to pay for the public resources we count on every day, including public schools and highways. Most states collect both income tax and retail sales tax, but some states only collect one or the other (and only one state, Alaska, collects neither).
Taxes on consumer goods, including gasoline and liquor tax, are collectively referred to as consumer taxes. While taxes on cigarettes and alcohol are generally meant to discourage the use of those products, gasoline tax helps pay for road maintenance.
Alaska Consumer Taxes at a Glance
Alaska is the only state in the Union that collects neither sales tax nor personal income tax, although some local municipalities have a sales tax (for instance, the rate in Juneau is 5 percent as of March 2015). Instead of these taxes, Alaska gets the bulk of its revenue from oil and gas revenues; funding from the federal government; and earnings from the Permanent Fund, investments that pay into the dividend state residents get every year.
But Alaska still collects excise taxes on sales of cigarettes, gasoline, and alcoholic beverages. While Alaska has the highest wine tax rate in the nation, its beer tax is among the lowest, at $1.07 per gallon.
The current rates for consumer taxes in Alaska are listed in the following table. See FindLaw's Tax Law section for more articles and resources.
| Sales Tax | None (however, some local municipalities have a retail sales tax) |
| Cigarette Tax | $2.00 per pack of 20 (§43.50.190, §43.50.090) |
| Gasoline Tax per Gallon | 29.7¢ per gallon, including 18.4¢ federal tax (§43.40.010) |
| Use Tax | None |
| Liquor Tax | Beer $1.07 per gal.; Wine and spirits up to 21% alcohol $2.50/gal., > 21% $12.80/gal. §43.60.010 |
| Gambling Tax | N/A |
Note: State laws are subject to change at any time through the decisions of higher courts, the enactment of new legislation, and other means. You may want to contact an Alaska tax law attorney or conduct your own legal research to verify the state law(s) you are researching.
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Alaska Consumer Tax Laws: Related Resources
