Title 15 . Revenue

Chapter 65 . (Repealed)

Section 125. Deductible mining expenses; other expenses; depletion

15 AAC 65.125. Deductible mining expenses; other expenses; depletion

(a) Other expenses that cannot be inventoried are deductible when paid or accrued. These expenses must be allocated in accordance with (b) of this section, and include:

(1) except as provided in (2) and (3) of this subsection, interest expense paid or accrued in connection with the mining operation is deductible as a current operating expense;

(2) construction period interest expense, including all interest paid or accrued in connection with depreciable property to be used in the mining operation in the state, is to be capitalized and recovered through depreciation or amortization in accordance with the person's election for federal income tax purposes;

(3) interest expense paid or accrued by a consolidated business in connection with the mining operation in the state is deductible as follows:

(A) 100 percent of the interest on specific new borrowings made with the purpose, expressed at the time of the borrowing, of financing the mining operation in the state; specific new borrowings may not exceed the amount of accumulated expenditures made for fixed capital and working capital to finance the mining operation in the state;

(B) if no specific new borrowing is made to finance the mining operation in the state, the interest deduction may not exceed a portion of the total interest paid or accrued by the consolidated business; that portion is determined by multiplying the total interest by a fraction, the numerator of which is the cost of the taxpayer's real and tangible personal property in the state and the denominator of which is the cost of all real and tangible personal property of the business; in this subparagraph, "total interest paid or accrued by the consolidated business" does not include interest expense arising from intercompany obligations within the consolidated business except to the extent that the interest expense reflects a pass-through of interest on a third-party borrowing by the parent or other member of the consolidated business;

(4) advertising expenses;

(5) Alaska corporate net income tax;

(6) salaries paid to officers and others for the performance of services that are incident and necessary to the person's business activities as a whole rather than to extraction and ordinary treatment processes;

(7) other expenses that are incident and necessary to the person's business activities as a whole rather than to extraction and ordinary treatment processes.

(b) For the purpose of expense allocation under (a) of this section,

(1) interest expense and taxes allowed under (a)(1) of this section are deductible to the extent that they relate to a person's mining activity in the state and are determined by multiplying total expenses by a fraction, the numerator of which is the person's direct mining expenses in the state and the denominator of which is the person's total direct expenses related to both mining and non-mining activities in the state;

(2) the expenses allowed under (a)(4) - (7) of this section are deductible to the extent they relate to mining activities in the state and are determined by multiplying the total expenses by a fraction, the numerator of which is the person's direct mining expenses in the state and the denominator of which is the person's total direct expenses related to both mining and non-mining activities.

(c) While a mining property is in the development stage, all development expenditures in excess of net income from the sale of mined materials must be included in the mine's basis and are recoverable through the depletion allowance. Development expenses incurred after the mine has reached the production stage are deductible as a current operating cost. The mine is considered to have passed from a development to a production stage when the principal activity of the mining property becomes the production of ore from the property rather than the development of the ore body before production.

(d) A deduction for depletion may be taken by a person for each economic interest held in an Alaska mining property; an economic interest is held when a person has acquired by investment any interest in a mineral in place and that person derives, under any form of legal relationship, income from the extraction of the mineral, to which the person must look for a return of capital.

(e) A percentage depletion allowance is permitted for each property described in AS 43.65.010 (e), if the allowance is not less than if it were computed on a cost basis. If computed on a percentage basis, the depletion allowance may not exceed 50 percent of the person's mining net income as computed without the allowance for depletion. Cost depletion must be used for all other mineral types not described in AS 43.65.010 (e), including sand and gravel.

(f) In computing mining taxable income, depreciation expense on all mining equipment, buildings, and other facilities located in Alaska, is allowed as a deduction. A property's basis for computing depreciation is the adjusted basis of the asset for federal income tax purposes on the date the asset is placed in service in Alaska. Depreciation on mining assets may be computed using any of the methods allowed under secs. 167 and 168 of the Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. 167 and 168). In place of the depreciation expense deduction, a person may elect to amortize the cost of pollution control facilities used in the mining operation in accordance with sec. 169 of the Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. 169).

(g) Exploration costs, federal income taxes, taxes under this chapter, losses on the sale of mining equipment or properties, net operating losses and other capital losses are not deductible.

(h) If the allocation provisions of this section do not fairly represent the amount of the person's expenses paid or accrued in connection with the mining operation in the state, the person may petition the commissioner for the use of another method to effectuate an equitable allocation of the person's expenses.

History: Eff. 8/9/86, Register 99

Authority: AS 43.05.080

AS 43.65.010

AS 43.65.060