By SUZANNE DOWNING
Sept. 26, 2026 – Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins is making his 2013 vote against Alaska’s oil tax overhaul a point of pride in his campaign for governor. He says the state should take another look at how much it collects from oil production. Most Alaskans, when asked on the ballot in 2014, voted against JKT’s vote.
“Of the 17 candidates in [this race for governor] I’m the only one who voted against [SB 21],” Kreiss-Tomkins said this summer before the primary, declaring himself the outlier. “I’m very proud of that vote, and I think it’s clear from the diminished oil and gas revenue that Alaska gets that we’re sort of due to revisit the tax system.”
The vote puts a consequential part of his legislative record before voters. Senate Bill 21 replaced Alaska’s Clear and Equitable Share, or ACES, the radical oil production tax passed by Democrats and enacted under Gov. Sarah Palin in 2007. ACES was an elastic tax system, taking more for the state as the price of oil went up, making it impossible for companies to make business decisions based on what could be predicted.
SB 21 eliminated that escalating rate and established a straight 35% tax on net production value, with per-barrel credits and provisions intended to encourage new oil development.
Kreiss-Tomkins, in an August interview, called the current $8 per-barrel credit “very overly generous” and said the minimum tax should be examined. He also argued that Hilcorp should pay state corporate income tax. In other words, he is going to target the company that took over North Slope operations once British Petroleum decided to exit the state.
Tax uncertainty was a big part of BP’s decision to exit, as Alaska has constantly rewritten its oil tax system (ELF, PPT, ACES under Palin, then SB21 in 2013). BP executives told the Legislature that “ongoing oil tax uncertainty” and “tax risks” were factors for how the Alaska assets were evaluated by the company and put Alaska on the sale short-list.
JKT’s position revives an argument Alaska voters have heard before. After the Legislature passed SB 21, opponents like JKT sought to repeal it at the ballot box. In the 2014 primary election, voters kept the law: 52.7% voted against repeal and 47.3% voted for it.
Kreiss-Tomkins says Alaska gets too little from its oil and wants to revisit parts of SB 21. With a Democrat majority likely to take over in November, Alaska may be in for a rough patch, as once again the ever-changing oil tax system makes investors balk.
4 thoughts on “Kreiss-Tomkins says he is proud of voting against SB 21, wants to revisit oil taxes”
I guess he’s never heard about the results coming on line, like Pikka..
Sounds like he’s never met a tax he didn’t like – must have learned from Berkowitz in Anchorage.
The same old failed Democrat economic policy: Tax them into productivity.
Let’s be clear – this fella is hostile to industry of almost all kinds – except individual fishermen, of course. He wants a high-tax, high-cost, no-growth Alaska. Private industry is bad and resource development is inherently bad. Government and NGOs will grow and control. I am not exaggerating.
Other than serving several undistinguished terms in the Legislature, what on God’s green earth has he accomplished in his life? Has he managed an organization or had to please a boss? Wake up Alaska.