Update: November 16, 2011

Working Poor Oregonians Pay More in Income Taxes Than Poor in Most Other States

As poverty continues to rise in Oregon, a new report says that Oregon remains among a minority of states that tax the income of working poor families and that its tax is among the highest.

In 2010, Oregon income taxes kicked in at $19,900 for a married couple with two children, about $2,414 below the poverty line for a family that size, according to the Washington, D.C.-based Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP). Of the 41 states plus the District of Columbia that levy an income tax, only nine states taxed four-person families earning less. The vast majority -- 27 of the 42 with income taxes -- do not tax the working poor.

Our state as a whole would be better off if poor, working families could devote all of their income to putting food on the table, paying for transportation, housing and health care costs and covering other basic needs.

Read the news release Working Poor Oregonians Pay More in Income Taxes Than Poor in Most Other States.

Read a one-page fact sheet summarizing Oregon data: Oregon Income Taxes Reach Into Poverty.