The Ketchikan Gateway Borough Assembly on Monday night passed the first reading of an ordinance that would remove a sales tax exemption from cruise ships.
The ordinance, should it become law, would amend borough code in Ketchikan by removing an exemption for the sales of goods which are transported into the borough on a cruise ship, which do not leave the cruise ship, and where the entire transaction, both payment and delivery, takes place on board the ship.
In 2022, the City of Borough of Juneau removed the exemption of on-board sales of goods and services occurring while the vessels are inside Gastineau Channel.
During the meeting KGB attorney Glenn Brown said Juneau saw a slight windfall of around $200,000 when it first repealed its cruise ship exemption.
In 2024, the Municipality of Skagway Borough adopted an ordinance amending its sales tax code to extend taxation to tours sold on cruise ships and out-of-town online vendors for tours originating and returning to a point within the borough.
The proposed ordinance will face a public hearing at the Feb. 24 Ketchikan Assembly meeting.
