Before the COVID-19 pandemic upended the economy, the income of Oregon’s ultra-rich had set yet another record. In 2018, the year with the most recently available data, the average income of the richest 0.1 percent — the top one-tenth of 1 percent — rose to more than $5 million, the highest ever.
Unless the Oregon legislature intervenes, some very rich business owners will receive a new tax cut from the state, just when schools and other essential services are starved for resources due to the coronavirus crisis. An obscure provision in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act created a new tax break whose only beneficiaries are a select group of rich business owners.
Unless the Oregon legislature intervenes, some very rich business owners will receive a new tax cut from the state, just when schools and other essential services are starved for resources due to the coronavirus crisis.
Last week, a fight over a ballot measure to fund services for people experiencing homelessness in the Portland metropolitan area spilled out into public view.
Suspending the Oregon Corporate Activity Tax (CAT), as some in the business community have urged, would undermine school funding at a time when resources for education will already be in short supply.
La pandemia de coronavirus ha causado órdenes de quedarse en casa, el cierre de escuelas y mucho más, pero el censo de 2020 sigue en pie.
The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has caused the cancellation of graduation ceremonies, the NBA season, and other events, but the 2020 census goes on. The pandemic will make it both more
In this time of crisis, Oregonians will need public services like never before. The state will need to devote significant resources to respond to a public health crisis of unprecedented scope, all while working to protect Oregon families slammed by an economic crisis.
There is a clear and pressing need for the state of Oregon to complement much-needed federal actions to address the current public health and economic crisis.
Chair Hass, Vice-Chair Findley, and Members of the Committee, My name is Daniel Hauser, tax policy analyst for the Oregon Center for Public Policy, and I respectfully submit this testimony
© Oregon Center for Public Policy 2023
