Oregon schools are in dire need of additional resources, and they will have fewer resources still if Comcast gets its way in obtaining a tax break it doesn’t deserve.
Help us make sure Comcast doesn’t prevail by saying “no” to the Comcast tax con. 
Last year, the Oregon legislature created a new property tax break in an effort to get Google to build a fiber network to provide high-speed, gigabit Internet service in the Portland metro area. Whether the legislature ought to be handing out these kinds of tax subsidies for corporate behemoths is a good question to ask.
Be that as it may, the legislature did not intend for the tax break to extend to Comcast.
It was meant for projects requiring a capital investment to expand access to high-speed internet at a reasonable cost to consumers. Comcast applied for the exemption, saying its existing Gigabit Pro service met the requirements. That service, however, requires consumers to pay $1,000 just to set it up. Moreover, customers must live within one-third of a mile of Comcast’s existing fiber footprint to even be eligible, calling into question whether the service is accessible to the majority of Comcast’s broadband customers, another requirement to qualify for the tax break.
The Oregon Department of Revenue has rightly rejected Comcast’s claim, but the company has appealed. Should Comcast prevail, the company will pocket tens of millions of dollars that would otherwise go to help support schools and other key public services.
Sign the petition telling the Oregon Department of Revenue not to give in to the Comcast tax con.
