A Plan to Raise Taxes on Corporations and Give Every Oregonian $750 a Year is Likely to Be on the November Ballot

In November, Oregon voters will likely decide if the state should create a historic universal basic income program. This program would give every resident of the state about $750 a year from higher business taxes.

People who like the idea say they probably have enough papers to get it on the ballot this fall, and people who don’t like it are paying attention.

Business groups in the state are getting ready to start a campaign against the proposed measure, saying it would hurt the economy and business climate in Oregon.

Initiative Petition 17 would put a 3% tax on all sales made by companies in Oregon that are more than $25 million. The money from this tax would be split evenly among all Oregonians, no matter what age. Plus, more than 135,000 signatures were turned in by Friday, which is more than the 117,173 needed to get on the ballot. The Office of the Secretary of State still needs to confirm that those marks are real.

It seems really good. A hairstylist in Portland named Anna Martinez helped start the group behind the effort in 2020. “It’s really exciting,” she said. The program would start in January 2025 if people agree to it.

Martinez and other supporters say that the extra money would help Oregon families buy food, pay their rent, and do other important things. “This will bring money back to the area.” “It’s good for small businesses,” she said. “Some people say, ‘Well, it’s only $700,'” That is very important if you need it.

The state’s Department of Revenue would be in charge of giving the money to the right people. The ballot measure draft says that all Oregon residents, even those who haven’t filed their personal income taxes, would be able to get the money in cash or as a refundable tax credit.

The draft of the initiative plan says that any extra money from the rebate would “be used to provide additional funding for services for senior citizens, health care, public early childhood education, and public education from kindergarten to grade 12.”

People from out of state who support universal basic income have given a lot of money to the ballot measure effort.

The Oregon People’s Rebate has raised about $740,000 and spent all of it, except for about $10,000. Jones Holding LLC, a company based in Los Angeles and run by investor and supporter of a basic income for everyone Josh Jones, has given $425,000, making it by far the biggest donor. The second biggest donor is Jones Parking Inc., an L.A.-based linked company that gave almost $95,000. The third biggest donor is Gerald Huff’s foundation and mother. Gerald was a software engineer from California who pushed for a basic income for everyone and died in 2018. Huff’s mother and organization have given a total of $90,000.

According to Martinez, the donors are from California, but they are not bad people from outside the country. “These are people who really want a basic income.”

Business groups in Oregon are getting ready to fight the bill. The Tax Foundation and the Oregon Business and Industry, a state business group, both say that raising corporate taxes would hurt businesses and make goods and services more expensive.

Oregon Business and Industry said in a statement that the proposed move would raise taxes by a huge amount. “Our organization will be running a campaign against it if it makes it to the ballot, and we are sure that voters will reject it when they see the facts.”

Oregon gets billions of dollars a year in business taxes right now. The Legislative Revenue Office says that the state’s excise and income tax on companies brought in 10.3% of the state’s general fund in the 2021-2023 biennium. This made it the second most important source of revenue, after the personal income tax.

People who do business in Oregon who are C companies pay a state excise tax of 6.6% on income less than $1 million and a 7.6% tax on income more than that. The Legislative Revenue Office says that if a business doesn’t have a net income, it has to pay a state tax of at least $150 up to $100,000 based on its total sales. Other kinds of businesses have to pay an excise tax of at least $150.

Corporations in Oregon also have to pay a 0.57% corporate activity tax. This tax is based on the amount of business they do in Oregon that is worth more than $1 million.

Under the suggested ballot measure, the minimum excise tax on all corporations with reported gross sales over $25 million would go up to 3%. All of that money would then be given to all Oregon residents who live in the state for more than 200 days a year by the state’s Department of Revenue.

Business groups are worried that the higher taxes will make companies leave Oregon. A report from the Tax Foundation says that companies that would have to pay such high taxes would probably move more of their operations out of state to avoid them.

It is said in the study that companies with high gross sales but little or no profit would be taxed too much. If a company only made 3% on sales over $25 million, it would have to pay Oregon taxes on all of its income.

Martinez said it doesn’t surprise her that business groups are against her. She said, “It’s an old story.” Business firms don’t want to pay their fair share. People in Oregon normally make a lot more money than they do. We all have very small gaps, but we make it work.

Source: oregonlive