Oregon Business Association

OBA In the News

The 2009 session has ended but the debate over tax increases on Oregon businesses continues to build.   As advocates in support and in opposition to the taxes gear up for a possible referendum, OBA's alternative proposal continues to be a part of the conversation in the media.

Click the links below to catch up on recent coverage:

CFM Insider Online: What Might Have Been - "Ironically, Oregon may have been able to skirt the messy, partisan battles of other states such as California and New York if it had simply cut a deal with the Oregon Business Association on tax hikes."

News-Register: Oregonians Girding for Unnecessary Tax Fight - "Simple compromise might have avoided the now-promised referendum, which would give Oregon voters final say on the personal and business tax hikes.  But Democrats, with a 60 percent majority in both the House and Senate, thumbed their collective noses at common sense.  Now, said an OBA official, we have “what is guaranteed to be a brutal battle between the two big coalitions that seem to relish in these fights.”

The Registered-Guard: Business Backs Anti-Tax Effort - "Ryan Deckert, a former Democratic legislator who now heads the Oregon Business Association, said he tried in vain to persuade lawmakers to make the tax increase temporary.  A plan his group put forward would have raised more than the Legislature did.  But it would have made most of the increases temporary — just to get Oregon through the next four years of recession and economic recovery, Deckert said.

OBA currently is neutral on the tax referenda, although it has sat in on the opposition coalition’s strategy meetings and is keeping individual businesses abreast of developments, since some want to be involved.

Deckert, whose association includes Nike, Standard Insurance and NW Natural, said he’s still holding out hope that lawmakers may reconsider after being away from Salem, and come back in special session this year to revise the legislation. But he conceded such a scenario is remote. Most corporate interests in Oregon aren’t waiting for such a course change."

The Gresham Outlook: Legislators Forget Vows of Moderation - "If legislators had accepted the compromise offered by Oregon Business Association, these tax increases would have stood a better chance at the ballot box.  In overreaching, however, Democrats have pitted business interests against public employee unions in what will be a bloody campaign."