January 27, 2010
Oregon Vote Shows Willingness to Tax High-Income Earners, Corporations
Tax Foundation Statement on Voter Approval of "Millionaires' Tax," Corporate Tax Increase
Washington, DC, January 27 2010 -- Oregon voters are willing to increase personal and corporate income taxes - as long as the tax burden falls on someone else.
Oregon voters yesterday upheld Measure 66, which will raise income taxes on high-earners, by a vote of 53.69 to 46.31 percent, and Measure 67, which raised corporate income taxes, by 53.03 to 46.97 percent. Tax Foundation Director of State Projects Joseph Henchman provided the following statement:
"Voters decided that two tax increases passed by the legislature last summer will stand. The success of Proposal 66 means the top income earners in the state will pay a rate of 11 percent (tied for highest state rate in the nation with Hawaii) on incomes over $250,000 a year. Proposal 67 added new bracket and top rate for corporations earning over $250,000 a year.
"Long-time U.S. Senator Russell Long famously said that for many people, tax reform means, 'Don't tax you, don't tax me. Tax that fellow behind the tree.' That's the best way to sum up the results from yesterday's tax referendum in Oregon. It's not evidence of people willing to 'tax themselves.'
"The referendum process in Oregon has been used previously to block tax increases that would affect a majority of the population directly. So the legislature came back with taxes directly targeting a smaller minority population. In this case, the top income tax rate will only hit around 2 percent of income earners in the state.
"Had voters rejected the tax increases, Oregon would have regained its place among the top 10 states with the most 'business-friendly' tax systems in the Tax Foundation's annual State Business Tax Climate Index. Oregon had consistently ranked among the 10 best states for tax climate, but for the first time ever fell out of the top 10 in the 2010 Index largely due to the tax increases."
The Tax Foundation is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that has monitored fiscal policy at the federal, state and local levels since 1937.
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To schedule an interview, please contact Tax Foundation Manager of Media Relations Natasha Altamirano at (202) 464-5102 or naltamirano@taxfoundation.org.