Alaska voters reject repeal of 2013 petroleum production tax; 'No' votes take decisive lead

Alaska voters have rejected a repeal of the state's new petroleum tax system.

A count Tuesday of 17,721 more votes widened the margin by which Alaska voters rejected the repeal.

With 171,857 votes cast, "no" votes led by 8,443 votes.

Alaskans on Aug. 19 voted on the ballot measure, which would have rolled back the tax structure backed by Gov. Sean Parnell.

That revision replaced a system championed by former Gov. Sarah Palin, which contained a progressive surcharge that took a larger tax bite from company profits when oil prices increased.

Parnell said his replacement would encourage investment.

Repeal advocates say the system gives huge tax breaks to profitable oil companies without assurance that they will invest in new drilling.