Sales tax cap question slated for Petersburg ballot

Petersburg voters will decide this fall whether to raise the town's sales tax cap.

Petersburg's sales tax is 6%. Currently, sales and services are only taxed on the first $1,200, which means tax on a single purchase is capped at $72 max. Now, the Borough wants to raise that cap to $300 by changing the taxable amount to $5,000.

Borough officials say Petersburg has the lowest cap among major towns in Southeast Alaska. The cap has been adjusted only once since it was established nearly 70 years ago, raising it from $1,000 to $1,200 in 2002.

Petersburg's Borough Assembly passed the proposal at a m...