After just one year, Haines voters will decide if they want to repeal the seasonal sales tax. It was meant to collect more money in the summer, when Haines is flush with visitors, and provide relief to locals in the winter. Those in favor of keeping the tax think that so far, the numbers look good and more time is needed to collect a full year of sales tax information. Those opposed say the variable tax is confusing and has cost them too much.

In January, Haines’ in-town sales tax rate dropped from 5.5% to 4.5%, with groceries exempt. In April, the rate raised to 7% and taxes on groceries resumed.

Commercial fisherman Dan Kendryna said the seasonal tax wasn’t great for his business. He had to make most of his purchases after the rate increased for the year.

“I’ve ordered brailer bags,” he said. “…Those brailer bags – that was about $3,000 worth of brailer bags from Homer. And just because they were shipped to Haines, they were also subjected to 7% sales tax.”

And that 7% also must be paid on labor. Kendryna said he invested heavily in his boat this year.

“I’ve done a lot of fiberglass … You’re not going to start doing a whole fiberglass project in the winter,” he said. “…The labor is subject to the borough tax … That always kind of falls right in the middle of salmon season, no matter how prepared you are over the winter.”

Kendryna said he will vote to appeal the seasonal sales tax and hopes to return to the flat 5.5 % in-town rate.

Barbara Nettleton also supports repealing the seasonal tax rate. In fact, she led the initiative that got the question on the ballot. 

Nettleton runs a tour company in Haines, and said the variable rate has made it harder for her to do business.

“When you have a variation in sales tax, it’s vulnerable to the cost of goods, and it’s hard to predict … it’s really difficult for a business and even a household to budget for the unknown expenditures,” she said. “…Whereas with a set sales tax … it’s easier to form your budget and predict what your revenues are going to be and predict what your expenditures are going to be.”

Nettleton thinks the same is true for the borough’s budget. 

“…This whole let’s wait and see what happens, to me, I find that to be fairly irresponsible. I feel that we should know what’s going to happen,” she said. “…That’s just how I feel a government should run. They should have a solid idea of what it’s going to look like.”

Nettleon said that because of the seasonal tax, she has put some of her local spending on hold.

Darsie Culbeck has a different perspective on the seasonal sales tax. Culbeck also runs tours, but he’s based out of the Arctic in the warmer months. He said he spent quite a bit of money this summer on building materials in Haines. 

Culbeck said he supported the seasonal sales tax when it first went to the ballot in 2025. And he wants the seasonal sales tax to remain, at least until there’s more information about its impacts.

“The data, unfortunately, is really limited so far,” he said. “We have six months of data — three months in the winter when the rates are low, and three months in the summer when the rates are higher … To me, the data is just inconclusive. It sort of seems to trend like it could be really good for the borough. But my point, my whole thing was, how are people going to decide on this issue? And it seems like … it’s more on how it feels versus actual numbers.”

And so far the numbers are positive, according to the Borough, but also a little complicated.

“We hoped that the seasonal sales tax would bring in … roughly an extra $300,000 during the course of a year,” said Finance Director Jila Stuart. “This one so far appears to have brought in an extra $300,000 over just six months. But there’s a few caveats to that.”

One factor was a large increase in the price of oil. And, this year the borough started collecting sales tax from onboard cruise ship purchases. And finally, the borough hosted a leg of the Freeride World Tour, an elite snowboarding and skiing competition. That boosted spending in March.

Stuart said that July and August should generate the most sales tax. But businesses have roughly 40 days to remit sales tax. 

“So in October, I could give you a picture of how the summer went, which would be more complete,” she said. “Unfortunately, that will be after people vote on repealing the seasonal sales tax or not.” 

Stuart said that if the seasonal sales tax is not repealed, it seems very likely that sales tax projections for fiscal year 27 will be exceeded. 

That could give the Assembly wiggle room for further tax relief on things like heating fuel, as was briefly mentioned in the Sept. 8 borough Assembly meeting. But those discussions won’t happen until after voting season.

Voters will have to decide the seasonal sales tax issue at the polls on Oct. 6, based on the information they have now.