Will Governor Hit Small Business With $1 Billion Tax Increase?

Date: March 07, 2018

News Release--NFIB delivers a letter asking her to veto Senate Bill 1528 B

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Anthony K. Smith, Oregon State Director, 503-364-4450 [email protected]
or Tony Malandra, Senior Media Manager, 415-742-5971, [email protected]

SALEM, Ore., March 7, 2018—NFIB, Oregon’s voice of small business, this morning, delivered a letter to Gov. Kate Brown asking her to veto SB 1528 B, which would not only deprive Main Street enterprises of the ability to take advantage of recently enacted federal tax reforms, but also stiff Main Street enterprises with a $1 billion tax increase.

Highlights from the letter, written by NFIB State Director Anthony Smith include:

“As a result of federal tax reform, and the way Oregon connects to the federal tax code for the purposes of determining state income tax liability, small businesses in Oregon are currently allowed a new 20% deduction on pass-through business income – until Oregon lawmakers act to take that deduction away.

“After the March 2018 Revenue Forecast came out with new numbers, projecting a +$145 million ending balance for the 2017-19 biennium, the Oregon Legislature still passed SB 1528 B, disconnecting from the new federal policy. This decision will cost Oregon’s small, family businesses more than $1 billion between now and the end of the 2021-23 biennium.

“SB 1528 B raises $244.4 million in 2017-19, $376.7 million in 2019-21, & $427.4 million in 2021-23. This additional revenue was not part of the most recent state revenue forecast meaning Oregon does not need to raise more revenue from small businesses in order to balance its budget.

“By 2023, these businesses will have paid over $1 billion in state income taxes that would not otherwise be imposed on them but for SB 1528 B. The Legislature has chosen to keep all the parts of the federal tax reform that raises state revenues for itself, while taking away the one part that specifically benefits small businesses in Oregon.

“By definition, it took an Act of the Legislature, SB 1528 B, to raise this revenue. As such, this bill should have originated in the Oregon House of Representatives. It should have been passed with at least 18 votes in the Oregon Senate and 36 votes in the Oregon House. SB 1528 B failed to meet any of these requirements, calling into question the constitutionality of these actions. … Please join with Oregon’s small businesses and oppose this unnecessary legislation. Pleases veto SB 1528 B.”

Click here to read the entire letter.

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Celebrating its 75th anniversary, the National Federation of Independent Business has taken the message from Main Street to the halls of Congress and all 50 state legislatures since 1943. NFIB annually surveys its members on state and federal issues vital to their survival as America’s economic engine and biggest creator of jobs. NFIB’s educational mission is to remind policymakers that small businesses are not smaller versions of bigger businesses; they have very different challenges and priorities.

National Federation of Independent Business/Oregon
3340 Commercial St. S.E. Suite 210
Salem, OR 97302
503-364-4450
www.nfib.com/oregon
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