Sen. Murkowski Says Eskimo Whaling Captains Tax Credit Will Help Protect Historic Whaling, Subsistence In Alaska
Washington, D.C. - Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski praised final passage of a tax credit to help continue Eskimo whaling on the North Coast of Alaska, saying it is vital to protect the historic subsistence way of life in Arctic Alaska.
Murkowski, along with Congressman Don Young who helped finally secure the credit after a seven-year effort by the Delegation, said the credit is vital for north coast villagers. "This was a hard provision to pass because congressmen had a hard time accepting or believing the traditions of Alaska where Eskimo villagers share equally from the harvest of whales, even though the village whaling captain by tradition pays the entire cost of the whale hunt. It took a lot of explaining for jaded members of Congress to understand the selflessness of the captains and the huge financial pressures that tradition are placing on captains to provide food for their fellow villagers," said Murkowski.
The credit allows Native Alaskan whaling captains to claim up to a $10,000 per year charitable tax deduction to offset their equipment and fuel costs for the annual subsistence whale hunts in generally the Beaufort Sea.
The credit, proposed in the 108th Congress by Murkowski (S. 293), had been added originally to a charitable tax bill that Democrats then filibustered to stop from passing. The provision was added to a House version of a major corporate tax bill by Congressman Don Young, allowing it to be considered in the conference that crafted the final tax measure that cleared the House on Friday and the Senate early this afternoon. It (H.R. 4520) now heads to the President for signature.
"I'm pleased that my colleagues understood the need for this assistance to help Alaska North Slope residents continue their traditional subsistence whaling hunts. Subsistence whaling is vital to the survival of several North Slope communities, both culturally and economically," she said.
The tax change was first proposed in 1997 because of an IRS ruling that prevented North Slope whaling captains from deducting any portion of the costs of the traditional whale hunts from their taxes. The Senator noted that traditionally the captain of the hunt makes all provisions for the meals, wages and equipment associated with the hunt. In return the Captain is repaid in whale meat/ muktuk.
"As part of the tradition, the captain donates a substantial portion of the whale to his village in order to help the community survive the harsh winter," Murkowski said. She noted that if the captain was engaged in a business he could deduct his costs from his taxes, or if he donated the whale meat to a formal charitable organization, he could deduct the costs from his taxes as a charitable donation. She said the tax law change is only fair, especially since whale meat has no commercial market because of the International Whaling Commercial ban on the sale of whale meat.
The change, likely to cost the government far less than $4 million over the next decade, will make a huge to the financial viability of the traditional Eskimo hunts. Murkowski and Young, however, noted that the tax break will not hurt bowhead whale populations, since the harvest is fully regulated and carefully limited by the Alaska Whaling Commission.