KODIAK — A fishing tax rate glitch has new data that will increase state revenue in 2016, but the fix still needs work.
“I don’t think this issue’s going to go away,” said Kurt Iverson, a research analyst for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.
Iverson said 2015 data has raised the price for formerly undervalued fish. The state won’t make the millions it believed the fishery is worth, but the aggregate tax increase is worth more than a half-million dollars.
“The state was thinking the loss was in the neighborhood of $1-$2 million, but it’s closer to something like $600,000,” said Chris Woodley, executive director of Groundfish Forum, an industry group comprised of the flatfish catcher-processors that target the species in question such as yellowfin flounder and Atka mackerel.
