|
If
you still think living in Alaska isn't cool enough...think
about the fact that Alaskans have no state income tax
, no sales tax , and...
we
get paid to live here!
That's right! In 1976, the Alaska Permanent Fund was created
as a means of setting aside a percentage of revenues
from oil, minerals and other natural resources in investment accounts for the benefit of all Alaskans.
From this fund, a dividend is paid each year to every
qualifying Alaskan, based on the income of the fund. This
Permanent Fund Dividend (PFD) is
calculated by taking the net income of these investments
from the last five fiscal years, multiplying that number by
21%, dividing by 2, subtracting prior year obligations,
expenses and PFD program operations, then dividing by the
number of qualifying Alaskans.
Originally, the fund had decided to pay $50 per year of
residency to adult residents. That was ruled
unconstitutional by the Supreme Court and the terms changed
to paying an equal dividend amount for all residents of at
least six months. Thereby, a family of four that contains 2
children would receive 4 PFDs, etc. The 6 month requirement
was changed to 24 months in 1989, but after being
challenged, was lowered to one calendar year, which is still
the current requirement for length of residency.
For a
person to be eligible for a PFD payment, they must meet
certain specific criteria. Some of which are:
--they had to have lived in Alaska during the entire last
calendar year of the calculation period (using the above
example, that would mean all of 2007)
--they did not claim residency in any other state during
that same year
--they intend to remain a resident of Alaska
indefinitely
Other
criteria can be found by visiting
http://www.pfd.state.ak.us. |
