What is the most pressing issue facing Oregon today?
Economy
Homelessness
Transportation infrastructure
Crime
Big government
Northwest Observer
Subscribe for Free Email Updates
Name:
Email:
Search Articles
       





Post an Event


We Are Stronger Together
Monday, March 27, 2023 at 10:00 am
Oregon's Natural Resources & Industries (ONRI) is sponsoring the rally to meet legislators and influencers to bring light on legislation affecting natural resource industries, their families, and their communities. https://onri.us/events
Rally at the State Capitol, Salem.



Oregon Republican Party Freedom Banquet
Tuesday, March 28, 2023 at 6:00 pm
Hosted by ORP Chairman Justin Hwang
Keynote Speaker NRA First VP Willes K. Lee
Special Musical Guest, Nashville’s Stokes Nielson
Tickets: Dinner $75 - VIP Tickets $100
Call 503-931-1756 for table sponsorship info.
Ticket Sales end on March 23, 2023
Click for tickets
Embassy Suites Portland Airport



Ways and Means Hearing
Saturday, April 8, 2023 at 10:00 am
Public hearings on the budget. Members of the public will have the opportunity to testify at each of the hearings regarding their perspectives and priorities around the state budget. To testify, members of the public will be able to access sign up links on the Ways and Means Committee's webpage on OLIS.oregonlegislature.gov
Portland Community College - PAC Auditorium, Sylvania Campus 12000 SW 49th Ave, Portland, OR 97219



Ways and Means Hearing
Friday, April 14, 2023 at 5:00 pm
Public hearings on the budget. Members of the public will have the opportunity to testify at each of the hearings regarding their perspectives and priorities around the state budget. To testify, members of the public will be able to access sign up links on the Ways and Means Committee's webpage on OLIS.oregonlegislature.gov
Newport Performing Arts Center 777 W Olive St, Newport, OR 97365



Active Shooter Response Training
Friday, April 14, 2023 at 6:00 pm
This training is for Teachers, Students, Parents, Pastors, business owners, workshop will be held at TNT Martial Arts on Friday April 14, 2023 from 6pm-9pm. $10 The address to the school is 1982 NE 25th Ave. Suite 15. Hillsboro, Oregon 97124. Normal day clothes. We will be covering many topics in the seminar, including lockdown vs escape strategy, counter assault, classroom/kid management and command, classroom setup and planning, basic weapon familiarity and improvised weapons, and a TON of practice and dynamic role play. SIGN UP HERE: https://tntmartialarts.mystudioboss.com/anti-active.../ Although this is a deadly serious topic, we are going to make it fun and low stress for you. Pre-Registration is mandatory, class slots are LIMITED, and in the interest of safety and security, you’ll be expected to provide your identification that matches the registration name, upon entering the training facility. SIGN UP HERE: https://tntmartialarts.mystudioboss.com/anti-active.../ TNT may refuse any and all people deemed sketchy. ALL Kids SHALL have a parent in attendance WITH them. At the end of this course, you’ll certainly feel more confident knowing how to take proper action to protect your kids, and give your kids the knowledge to protect themselves. Cost goes to support the Sushi and ice-pack needs of the role-players you’ll be engaging. 🙂
TNT Martial Arts 1982 NE 25th Ave. Suite 15. Hillsboro, Oregon 97124



NW Food Show
Sunday, April 16, 2023 at 10:00 am
Showcase your foodservice industry solutions to buyers and influencers across the Northwestern U.S. and beyond. Exhibiting at the Northwest Foodservice Show is a cost effective way to meet with hundreds of industry decision makers face-to-face and grow your business. Space is limited, so book now!

SELL FACE-TO-FACE

• Generate high-quality leads by sampling and/or demonstrating your products in person

• Answer questions and give tailored pitches to a diverse group of attendees over two days

• Create new connections with buyers and build on existing relationships across the Northwest

WHO ATTENDS?

• 75% of attendees are key decision makers and have purchasing authority

• 47% of attendees have an alcohol license

• Nearly half of attendees are experiencing the Show for the first time

INDUSTRY SEGMENTS IN ATTENDANCE

• 36% Restaurant / Café

• 10% Bar / Tavern

• 10% Catering

• 10% Broker

• 7% Institutions: Universities, Schools, Hospitals, Corrections

• 5% Food Carts / Mobile

• 22% Other Foodservice

The Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association (ORLA) is the leading business association for the foodservice and lodging industry in Oregon. A not-for-profit trade organization, ORLA represents over 3,000 member units and advocates for over 10,000 foodservice locations and over 2,400 lodging establishments in Oregon.

Contact
Marla McColly - mmcolly@oregonrla.org to register for a booth today!
Portland Expo Center - Hall D - 2060 N Marine Dr, Portland, OR • April 16 –17, 2023 • Sunday, April 16: 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Monday, April 17: 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.



Ways and Means Hearing
Friday, April 21, 2023 at 5:00 pm
Public hearings on the budget. Members of the public will have the opportunity to testify at each of the hearings regarding their perspectives and priorities around the state budget. To testify, members of the public will be able to access sign up links on the Ways and Means Committee's webpage on OLIS.oregonlegislature.gov
Umpqua Community College 1140 Umpqua College Rd, Roseburg, OR 9747



Ways and Means Hearing
Friday, April 28, 2023 at 5:00 pm
Public hearings on the budget. Members of the public will have the opportunity to testify at each of the hearings regarding their perspectives and priorities around the state budget. To testify, members of the public will be able to access sign up links on the Ways and Means Committee's webpage on OLIS.oregonlegislature.gov
Four Rivers Cultural Center 676 SW 5th Ave, Ontario, OR 97914 Note: Ontario, Oregon is in the Mountain Time Zone



Lincoln County Fair
Friday, June 30, 2023 at 5:00 pm
Celebrating the many riches of Lincoln county - from agriculture to fishing to artists to the businesses and non-profits that make the region great - the New Lincoln County Fair has demonstrated that there is a place for the county fair in today's society. Now scheduled on the 4th of July weekend, the Fair can even more fully embrace the celebration of our community as an Old Fashioned 4th of July Celebration. Lincoln County Fair
Held at the Lincoln County Commons Address: 633 NE 3rd St, Newport, OR



St Paul Rodeo
Friday, June 30, 2023 at 7:00 pm
Small town fun, big time rodeo! Celebrating 87 years of St. Paul Rodeo with championship PRC St Paul Rodeo website
4174 Malo Avenue NE, Saint Paul, OR, United States, Oregon



Marion County Fair
Thursday, July 6, 2023 at 5:00 pm
The Marion County Fair
Oregon State Fair and Exposition Center 2330 17th ST NE Salem, OR 97301



Washington County Fair
Friday, July 21, 2023 at 5:00 pm
Washington County Fair

FREE ADMISSION

Washington County Fair
Westside Commons 801 NE 34th Ave, Hillsboro, OR 97124



Coos County Fair
Tuesday, July 25, 2023 at 5:00 pm
Beginning in 1912, the Coos County Fair has become the main event of the Summer for Coos County residents and is a county-wide showcase of agriculture, crafts, industry and business. The Fair provides the opportunity for all ages, from young to seniors, to exhibit their livestock, floral, land products, culinary, needlework, photography, arts and crafts.
Coos County Fairgrounds 770 4th St, Myrtle Point, OR 97458



Clatsop County Fair
Tuesday, August 1, 2023 at 5:00 pm
The Clatsop County Fair & Expo is located on ​109 acres overlooking the Wallooski ​River, just three miles from Astoria.

Clatsop County Fair
Clatsop County Fair and Expo Center 92937 Walluski Loop, Astoria, OR 97103



Oregon Jamboree Music Festival
Friday, August 4, 2023 at 5:00 pm
The Oregon Jamboree is the Northwest’s premier country music festival. Nestled in the foothills of the scenic Cascade Mountains, the Oregon Jamboree is held on 20+ acre park-like setting that includes the historic Weddle Covered Bridge. The Jamboree offers a full festival atmosphere in the main venue and a more intimate concert experience on the second stage. In addition to featured headline entertainment, this event hosts RV and tent camping, merchandise vendors, food booths, beer & wine gardens, and a variety of other attractions. The festival draws attendees from all over the United States, and has hosted many international visitors as well. Over 900 festival volunteers contribute their efforts to ensure a safe and fun experience for all.
Sweet Home, Oregon



Douglas County Fair
Wednesday, August 9, 2023 at 8:00 am
Douglas County Fair
Douglas County Fairgrounds Complex 2110 SW Frear Street Roseburg, OR 97471



Crook County Fair
Wednesday, August 9, 2023 at 1:00 pm
Crook County Fair
Crook County Fairgrounds Prineville, Oregon



Oregon State Fair
Friday, August 25, 2023 at 1:00 pm
Oregon State Fair
Oregon State Fair & Exposition Center 2330 17th St NE, Salem, OR 97301



Pendleton Round-Up
Saturday, September 9, 2023 at 5:00 pm
The world famous Pendleton Round-Up is back & stronger than ever. We're excited to see all of our friends, family, & fans back together again for the 113th Pendleton Round-Up!
Pendleton Round-Up and Happy Canyon Ticket Office and Gift Shop: 1330 SW Court Ave, Pendleton, OR 97801 Pendleton Round-Up Grounds: 1205 SW Court Ave, Pendleton, OR 97801 Happy Canyon Arena/Goldie's Bar: 1601 Westgate, Pendleton, OR 97801 Pendleton Round-Up & Happy Canyon Hall of Fame Museum: 1114 SW Court Ave, Pendleton OR 97801


View All Calendar Events


Gut and Stuffable Revenue Bills
Some bills to watch in the Revenue Committee, but not just yet

Editor's note: This is the sixth in a multipart series exploring tax measures before the Oregon Legislature during the 2021 session

"Gut and stuff" may sound like something that a hunting party does after a successful day tracking big game, but it's actually something less dramatic. It describes the process in the Legislature of amending a bill by removing all the contents of the bill and replacing them with something else. It's pretty common.

Often, legislators will introduce "placeholder" bills because the concepts behind them are still being discussed. In the 2021 session, there are several of these lurking in the House Committee on Revenue -- where all bills for raising revenue must originate.

The bills are: Don't for a minute think that the House Revenue Committee needs to pass a law to get the Legislative Revenue Officer to prepare a report on some tax issue.


--Staff Reports

Post Date: 2021-03-27 09:48:58Last Update: 2021-03-20 22:29:55



Reductions in Deductibility
These bills have the effect of raising taxes.

Editor's note: This is the fifth in a multipart series exploring tax measures before the Oregon Legislature during the 2021 session

As short -- less than a page -- bill, HB 2254, requires addition, in determination of Oregon taxable income, of amount of compensation above $1 million threshold paid by taxpayer to any individual and deducted as business expense. In short, tax deductions won't apply to income over $1 million, at least for the purposes of calculating state taxes.

It's pretty clear that the spirit of the bill -- introduced by Representative Marty Wilde (D-Eugene) -- is to generate extra revenue from "the rich," but it may have the effect of punishing small businesses, because of the way they file taxes. Many small businesses file as individuals and while $1 million is a large annual income for an individual, even a very small business can generate that level of revenue.

The effective part of the bill reads.

There shall be added to federal taxable income the amount of any individual’s compensation paid by a taxpayer that is in excess of $1 million for the tax year and that has been deducted on the taxpayer’s federal return under section 162 of the Internal Revenue Code.

HB 2255, also introduced by Representative Wilde, is similar. It limits, for purposes of personal income taxation, availability of itemized deductions, using phaseout based on adjusted gross income of taxpayer.

A taxpayer’s itemized deductions are the amount of the taxpayer’s itemized deductions as defined in section 63(d) of the Internal Revenue Codeshall be reduced by five percent for every $50,000 by which the taxpayer’s adjusted gross income exceeds $500,000.

In a time of record revenues coupled with a recession focused on small businesses, some think that these proposals are unnecessary and even mean-spirited. Neither bill has been scheduled for a hearing in the House Committee on Revenue, but this committee is not subject to the chamber deadlines faced by other committees.


--Staff Reports

Post Date: 2021-03-26 09:39:53Last Update: 2021-03-20 22:09:38



Marijuana Revenue Tinkerings
Dude, rural counties got the munchies

Editor's note: This is the fourth in a multipart series exploring tax measures before the Oregon Legislature during the 2021 session

Marijuana taxes have become a big part of Oregon's budget, brining in a whopping $133,150,349 in fiscal year 2020. 40% of that goes to schools and 15% goes to the State Police, so over half of the revenue is offsetting general fund money that would otherwise have to be paid by Oregon income taxpayers. It's play money for the Governor and the Legislature.

Since the passage of Ballot Measure 91 in 2014, marijuana has been seen as a cash cow, and like many other addictive products, there is incentive to turn up the spigot and generate even more revenue -- or at least change the rules for distributing the revenue.. People who are opposed in general to marijuana might support a tax increase also.

Right now, local taxes on pot are capped at 3% and have to be approved by the voters. State Representative Mark Owens (R-Crane) has a proposal, HB 2015, which would raise that cap to 10%. Some might argue that it's a sin tax and might deter some from weed, while generating revenue for local communities.

He's also introduced HB 2014 which changes the formula for redistributing marijuana revenue to cites -- currently based solely on population -- and bases it partly on sales.


--Staff Reports

Post Date: 2021-03-25 09:32:15Last Update: 2021-03-20 21:46:31



CAT Tax Exemptions
As business start to pay, they start to not want to pay

Editor's note: This is the third in a multipart series exploring tax measures before the Oregon Legislature during the 2021 session

The year 2019 saw an increase in Democratic numbers in the Legislature and with it, the ability to raise taxes without any support from the minority party. That brought one of the largest tax increases in the history of the State of Oregon with the Commercial Activities Tax that was created to fund the Student Success Act. Not surprisingly, a backlash has begun as targets of the tax seek to free themselves from its burdens.

HB 2259 exempts receipts from sales of prescription drugs and medical supplies or from provision of medical services from commercial activity subject to corporate activity tax.

HB 2268 exempts interest received on financial institution loans made to small business concerns from commercial activity subject to corporate activity tax.

An exemption that carries perhaps the highest price tag, HB 2293 exempts receipts from sales of agricultural, floricultural, horticultural, viticultural or food products from commercial activity subject to corporate activity tax. It was introduced by Representative Mark Owens (R-Crane).

HB 2429 has been introduced by Representatives Nancy Nathanson (D-Eugene) and E. Werner Reschke (R-Klamath Falls) Modifies provisions of corporate activity tax, expanding exemption for grocery sales to include groceries held by consignee store operator and expanding exemption for motor vehicle dealer transactions to include all new vehicle exchanges between franchised motor vehicle dealerships.

Representative Christine Drazan (R-Canby) has introduced HB 2633 exempts, from commercial activity subject to corporate activity tax, contractor receipts from repair or rebuilding of structure destroyed or damaged by wildfire.

HB 2753 prohibits pharmacy benefit manager from including in contract with network pharmacy term barring price increase to customer to offset estimated amount of corporate activity tax paid by pharmacy and attributable to sale of prescription drug. This has been introduced by Representative Ron Noble (R-McMinnville)

The bill has not been scheduled for a hearing.


--Staff Reports

Post Date: 2021-03-17 16:41:42Last Update: 2021-03-15 16:56:41



Kicker Might Kick
If projected revenues are up, why do we need new taxes?

Editor's note: This is the second in a multipart series exploring tax measures before the Oregon Legislature during the 2021 session

As the Oregon Office of Economic Analysis presented their revenue forecast they said that the "Oregon March forecast puts kicker credit back in play," which is interesting because we're supposed to be in a recession and like planes lining up to land as a major airport, the revenue bills have been queuing up in the Oregon House Revenue Committee, chaired by Representative Nancy Nathanson (D-Eugene), where all bills for raising revenue must originate.

They did hedge. Saying, "kicker credit is far from a sure thing since the tax season has yet to get under way," but they are cautiously projecting a personal kicker of $571 million and a corporate kicker of $420 million, though this money doesn't kick back to corporations. It goes to K-12 education, which frees up general fund money for the Legislature to spend as they wish.

Bills for raising revenue also require a three-fifths majority vote in each chamber to pass. Because of this, as Democrats barely have the numbers in both chambers to win a tax vote, it's easier for them if they can find a way to pass a revenue increase that doesn't require the super-majority. They can do this in many ways, including changing the eligibility requirements for qualifying for a tax.

Oregon's kicker law is a part of the Oregon Constitution and can be found in Article IX, Section 14:

Section 14.
(1) As soon as is practicable after adjournment sine die of an odd-numbered year regular session of the Legislative Assembly, the Governor shall cause an estimate to be prepared of revenues that will be received by the General Fund for the biennium beginning July 1. The estimated revenues from corporate income and excise taxes shall be separately stated from the estimated revenues from other General Fund sources.

(2) As soon as is practicable after the end of the biennium, the Governor shall cause actual collections of revenues received by the General Fund for that biennium to be determined. The revenues received from corporate income and excise taxes shall be determined separately from the revenues received from other General Fund sources.

(3) If the revenues received by the General Fund from corporate income and excise taxes during the biennium exceed the amount estimated to be received from corporate income and excise taxes for the biennium, by two percent or more, the total amount of the excess shall be retained in the General Fund and used to provide additional funding for public education, kindergarten through twelfth grade.

(4) If the revenues received from General Fund revenue sources, exclusive of those described in subsection (3) of this section, during the biennium exceed the amount estimated to be received from such sources for the biennium, by two percent or more, the total amount of the excess shall be returned to personal income taxpayers.




--Staff Reports

Post Date: 2021-02-25 16:04:28Last Update: 2021-02-25 16:02:16



Chipping Away at Property Tax Reform
Big government dream: A self-increasing tax

Editor's note: This is the first in a multipart series exploring tax measures before the Oregon Legislature during the 2021 session

As one of the few states without a general sales tax, Oregon depends heavily on property tax for revenue. Real property is taxed based on its value -- know as ad valorem taxes. As real estate prices spiked in the 1990s -- along with taxes -- citizens began to become resentful of the tax windfall enjoyed by their governments. In 1996 the citizens of Oregon passed property tax reform as Measure 47. There were some technical problems with Measure 47, so in 1997, the Legislature sent Measure 50 to the voters, which fixed the problems by repealing Measure 47, but keeping the tax cuts.

For 1997-98, the assessed value of a property was set at 90 percent of the property’s 1995-96 assessed value. After 1998 the growth in assessed value was limited to three percent annually. New properties are calculated by multiplying the ratio of assessed to real market value for similar property in the county by that property’s real market value. This means that if you have a home where the assessment has been rising only three percent in 1989 and you build a similarly valued home nearby, the tax rates would be similar.

Property values, especially with the policies in Oregon, tends to increase at a rate greater than three percent, so over the decades, most properties have seen a huge gap between the real market value -- what a home can sell for -- and the assessed value, which is capped to increase at no more than three percent annually.

State Representative Rob Nosse has introduced HJR 13 which proposes an amendment to Oregon Constitution providing that, for purposes of ad valorem property taxation, the ratio of maximum assessed value to real market value of property must be equal to three quarters of the market value.

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

It also exempts from ad valorem property taxes lesser of first $25,000 or first 25 percent of real market value of each homestead and requires the legislature to enact laws for administration of exemption, including adjusting $25,000 for inflation.

This means that property taxes would no longer be capped at three percent annually. They are only required to lag behind market value. The legislative revenue office has not done any analysis on what dollar amount this will raise, but it has to be significant, and will grow over the years.

As with all changes to the Oregon Constitution, only the people can do that, so this bill is a referral to the 2022 ballot. This resolution has not be scheduled for a hearing.


--Staff Reports

Post Date: 2021-02-23 13:04:07Last Update: 2021-02-23 15:48:24



Read More Articles