Sales tax can be written to exclude grocery food items and medicine to ease tax burden on those with lower income. People who make over $100,000 a year buy more expensive cars, dine at more expensive restaurants,  buy more services - and more expensive services at that. Thusly, people earning more than $100,000 pay much more in sales tax than do people who make less. Also, income tax captures tax dollars from the many thousands of tourists who come to Alaska every year. It captures tax dollars from drug dealers and criminals. It captures tax dollars from people who work in Alaska but live elsewhere. And also, importantly, it induces every Alaskan to actually have skin in the game. Everyone should be responsible for paying the taxes we need to pay for government, since we all get a vote. And let's not forget, with a sales tax people can control how much tax they pay, by the choices they make.