The Oregon Education Association (OEA) is pushing for two ballot measures for November 2018 that would help fund education in the state by taxing business, according to the East Oregonian. The first measure would lower the threshold for the state legislature to raise corporate taxes to fund education to a majority vote. Currently, the legislature requires a three-fifths majority in order to pass similar legislation.
The second measure would lower income taxes for individuals while adding a .95 percent gross receipts tax on businesses with annual sales of more than $5 million. NFIB has previously reported on this measure, which is very similar to Ballot Measure 97, that Oregon voters rejected last year.
Pro-business group Priority Oregon, which includes former Rep. John Davis, is working to combat the measure, reports The Oregonian.
“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.”