Kensington Mine manager warns Juneau sales-tax cap change could add millions to company tax bill

Juneau — Steve Ball, general manager of COR/CORE Alaska's Kensington Mine, told the Juneau Assembly at a May 27 special meeting that removing the city’s sales-tax cap on single goods and services would impose a disproportionate cost on the mining operation.

“In 2025, we paid nearly $3 million in local property and sales tax, providing nearly 400 stable year-round high-paying jobs,” Ball said, adding that the operation spent about $72 million with Alaska-based vendors. Ball said the mine receives limited direct services from the City and Borough of Juneau and that removing the cap could increase the company's annual tax burden by “approximately $5 million, roughly [a] 280% increase.”

Why it matters: Ball characterized the change as a concentrated burden on a small number of taxpayers — principally mining — who cannot pass the added costs on to customers. He also told the assembly the city participates in the Remote Sellers Sales Tax Commission, which broadens the reach of sales taxes and complicates the potential effects of any cap change.

Assembly action and timing: The assembly introduced Ordinance 2026-25 at the special meeting and, by unanimous consent, set a public hearing for the June 8 regular meeting and sent the ordinance to the finance committee for discussion on June 3. The mayor asked staff, including the finance director and the sales-tax office, to review the ordinance to ensure it would not inadvertently create double taxation.

Q&A with council members: After Ball’s remarks, Mr. Brooks asked how a proposed doubling of the cap would affect operations. Ball said that, based on current spending, raising the cap from $15,000 to $30,000 would add about $250,000 to the mine’s existing tax burden.

What the record shows: Ball’s testimony included multiple figures about 2025 tax payments, employment and vendor spending and two different impact estimates (a roughly $5 million increase if the cap were wholly removed, and about $250,000 if the cap were raised from $15,000 to $30,000). The assembly did not vote on the ordinance itself at this meeting; it only moved the item to committee and set the public hearing.