Oregon Business Association

OBA Business Leaders Discuss Tax Package

As the debate on the tax increases passed by the legislature continues to heat up, Oregon business leaders gathered at the OBA All-Members meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 4, to take up this important topic. 

Hosted by NW Natural, the meeting provided 100 plus OBA members the unique opportunity to hear from economic and political experts.  Prominent pollster Tim Hibbitts of Davis, Hibbtts & Midghall discussed the electoral prospects of a referendum effort and John Tapogna of EcoNorthwest outlined the economic impact of the tax legislation on Oregon businesses and the state as a whole.

Click here to view the full EcoNorthwest presentation.

Oregon Speaker of the House Dave Hunt met with the group following the presentations to listen to concerns and answer questions.

A Little Clarity on Business Taxes

The folks defending the legislative tax package have been quick to point out Oregon’s ranking on business tax liability compared to other states.

As illustrated by the above graph (part of EcoNorthwest economist Jon Tapogna's presentation at the OBA All-Members meeting) the reason our companies pay a lower percentage of taxes vs. the other states is quite simple: Oregon doesn’t have a sales tax which picks up all those business to business transactions.

If one wants to raise Oregon’s business contribution to the national average, there is only way to accomplish this objective, follow the other 45 states and adopt a sales tax.  We could quadruple the corporate excise tax and adopt the OBA proposal on the corporate minimum (which would produce the highest corporate minimum in the US) and we would still rank in the bottom 10 in business taxation.

We would welcome a serious discussion regarding tax reform including a sales tax.  That is the answer to increasing the business contribution to the state's budget.

Any takers?