Oregon House District 53 Representative Jack Zika (R-Redmond) today criticized the recently passed cell phone tax to fund broadband internet and other untimely taxes that have been passed quickly during last week’s special legislative session. He stated the many struggles that some are still having with the Employment division and how creating new taxes at this time when Oregonians are hoping to begin a financial recovery after extensive closures and shutdowns might be a bad idea. Zika suggests that Governor Brown veto the bill which is headed to her desk.

The full text of the letter is reproduced here:

Dear Governor Brown,

At the conclusion of the 2020 First Special Session, another bill passed through the legislature that would add an additional tax on already burdened Oregonians. This bill, Senate Bill 1603, is headed to your desk for approval. After yesterday's announcement that you are extending the emergency order, and the fact that many Oregonians have yet to receive their first unemployment check, I urge you to veto any tax bill, including the cellphone tax, that crosses your desk in order to allow Oregonians time to recover from the financial burden created by closures and layoffs.

Creating new taxes right now for broadband seems counterproductive when the state recently allocated $20 million in federal funds to improve rural broadband and has no plans on how to spend it. I suggest we come up with solutions to allocate that money before we even start the conversation on adding additional taxes.

As we've learned from the Oregon Employment Department's failure to use federal funds for years to improve its unemployment claims processing capacity, our state government does not suffer from a lack of resources; rather, it suffers from a lack of competence in using the resources it has responsibly.

The new cell phone tax comes on the heels of the implementation of Oregon's Corporate Activity Tax, which will drain desperately needed liquidity from small businesses and will lead to more layoffs. The one-two punch of tax hikes this summer and fall comes at the worst time, and small businesses around Oregon are closing after 20-30 years serving their communities due to restrictions and crushing tax burdens.

This tax might seem insignificant to some, but to others it means death by a thousand paper cuts (or taxes), and this will lead to many more mom-and-pop stores closing their doors. Some of these stores serve our impoverished or rural communities and are the only ones providing essentials for daily life within their neighborhoods. The power lies in your hands to show Oregonians that you are invested in their recovery, so I urge you to veto SB1603 and any other tax bill that come across your desk during your State of emergency declaration.

--Ben Fisher

Post Date: 2020-07-01 21:44:21

Last Update: 2020-07-01 21:45:16