Today, the Senate Committee on Finance and Revenue, Chaired by Senator Ginny Burdick (D-Portland), had a public hearing on an amendment to SB 137, which would repeal certain tax relief provisions from the state tax code. Because the Oregon and federal tax code are connected, the amendment would repeal important measures passed in the federal CARES Act meant to ease the burden of lock-downs that devastated working families and small businesses.

“The CARES Act and federal relief was designed to help working families and businesses make ends meet, not be siphoned off to state government,” said Senate Republican Leader Fred Girod (R-Lyons). “Make no mistake: this is raising taxes on businesses during a time when they need our help the most. Our small businesses have sacrificed a lot in the name of public health. Doing away with this assistance would create even more uncertainty for working Oregonians.”

“This amendment is a full-on assault on working families looking to recover,” said Senator Lynn Findley (R-Vale), Assistant Republican Leader and member of the Finance and Revenue Committee. “In the middle of a pandemic, Oregonians can’t afford for lawmakers to be messing with important tax relief that the CARES Act provided for working families. As proposed, this amendment would even increase taxes on small businesses that are losing money because of lock-downs.

“Oregon’s economic recovery is far behind the rest of the country. Major tax increases on working families and employers would stall the recovery, slow hiring, and ultimately deprive the state of revenue in the long run. The best way to bring revenue into the state is a safe and rapid reopening of Oregon businesses. Senate Republicans are committed to returning livelihoods to working families.”

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

Oregon has had a continuing connection ("rolling reconnect") to the federal definition of taxable income since tax year 2011. Other ties to federal tax law must be updated on a regular basis, with December 31st being the usual connection date. Over the past forty years, the state has rotated between a policy of automatic connection to federal tax base changes and connection to the federal code at a particular point in time.

Oregon lost 25,500 jobs in December, raising unemployment to 6.4%, a 7% increase from November’s number. The leisure and hospitality sectors have been devastated, with 28,600 jobs lost in December alone. The United States has recovered 56% of the jobs lost during the pandemic, while Oregon has only recovered 37% of its jobs lost during the pandemic.


--Staff Reports

Post Date: 2021-02-03 16:19:37

Last Update: 2021-02-03 16:32:23