In November 2016, Oregonians voted overwhelmingly against Measure 97, which would have imposed a 2.5 percent gross receipts tax on companies earning more than $25 million. Legislators are now revisiting the issue, proposing a new “business privilege tax” that would tax 0.7 percent of all sales in excess of $5 million.
If that sounds familiar, you aren’t alone. Business groups are already speaking out against the proposed tax, with commercials that label the new measure as, “just a sales tax.” The Oregonian reports that the group Priority Oregon, led by former Rep. John Davis, is airing the commercial in Portland and Eugene, and is supplementing it with radio, online, and social media outreach.
“We thought this argument had been laid to rest last year,” said Davis. “The base is broader because it applies to so many businesses. That’s a bad thing, not a good thing.”
There are multiple proposals circulating in the legislature, according to The Oregonian, and representatives claim that the 0.7 percent tax is just a placeholder.
A group of legislators including Senate Revenue Chair Mark Hass of Beaverton has been working on a proposal in private for the last several weeks. Aframework for that proposal was made public on May 2 during the first hearing of the newly created Joint Committee on Tax Reform.
