Alaska predicts sharp oil tax decline amid low prices

The state of Alaska is projecting revenue from oil and gas production taxes at $172 million this year, a dramatic drop from two years ago when production taxes totaled $2.6 billion.
Continued low oil prices contributed to the decline.
The state Revenue department says production taxes for the last fiscal year totaled nearly $390 million.
Alaska relies heavily on oil revenues to fund state government and is currently grappling with an estimated $3.5 billion budget deficit amid chronically low pri