ANCHORAGE, Alaska — This is one of those work days Revenue Commissioner Bryan Butcher lives for. For about five minutes he had the attention of countless people in Alaska as he announced this year’s amount for the Permanent Fund Dividened--$878.00.
Butcher says 677,733 Alaskans applied for this year's dividend and 646,805 were qualified. About 563,000 PFDs will be transferred to bank accounts when direct deposits begin Thursday, Oct. 4, with roughly 85,000 being mailed out as checks.
More than $567 million was distributed in this year's checks, which dropped several hundred dollars from last year's $1,174 checks. Butcher says the amounts are calculated based on an average of the past five years' Permanent Fund performance, with low-performing years from the 2008 recession soon to be removed from the formula.
Tuesday Channel 2 asked viewers what they’ll be spending the extra cash on, and it seems like many of you will be paying bills. That includes Butcher.
