 |
|
There are currently, 1 guest(s) and 0 Staff Online.
|
| |
|
| Measures 66 and 67 Clear the Hurdle posted on 02/01/2010
Oregon voters took a sharp turn to the left, shrugging off their past defiance of refusing to pass anything that resembled a tax increase.
Measures 66 and 67 – that increase taxes for high-income earners, corporations and some businesses – passed by wide margins in the Jan. 27 election.
Late returns showed both measures enjoying a comfortable 54 percent to 46 percent edge statewide, with Clackamas County turning in a vote of 50-50 on the hotly contested issues.
Drastic legislative cuts may have been avoided with the passing of the measures. Legislative leaders estimated a $727 million shortfall if the measures failed.
“Cautious relief,” was the initial reaction of Oregon Trail School District Superintendent Shelley Redinger. “I am pleased that Oregonians saw the need and showed their support. A defeat of both measures would have created a deficit of more than $2 million for the 2009-2011 biennium.”
Those sentiments were not shared by opponents. The Oregon Small Business Coalition saw the results as a vilification of the very businesses that will be essential to economic recovery.
“OSBC believes our economy will suffer and the tax structure will actually harm small businesses,” the coalition wrote in a Jan. 27 release. “The Legislature provided the people with a false choice – education and public service funding versus jobs and economic growth. In fact, we need both.”
Measure 66 will raise taxes on wage earners making $125,000 per year as individuals, and $250,000 for couples.
Measure 67 hikes the minimum tax on corporations, increases the tax rate on upper-level profits and affects some small businesses currently paying the minimum $10 a year in taxes.
“The passage of the measures will bring a level of stability to the district,” Redinger said. “However, we are concerned about Oregon’s economy and the continued effect on public education.”
Redinger went on to remind voters that the district already cut more than $3 million from the present 2009-2010 budget.
“A budget task force has been meeting since fall, reviewing revenue, expenses and alternatives for addressing possible future shortfalls,” she said. “The task force will continue to meet to address economic concerns.”
The passing of the two measures is the first statewide-approved income tax increase since the Hoover administration in the 1930s.
Multnomah County led the victory, approving the two measures by a whopping 2-1 margin.
by Larry Berteau/MT
|
|
|
|
|
|
