October 10, 2009
Oregonian Highlights Tax Foundation’s 2010 State Business Tax Climate Index
"A plea for accuracy in war of words over taxes"
By Rick Attig
State elections officials have now certified referendums to repeal the Legislature's $733 million tax package, triggering one of the most ill-timed and potentially damaging debates in Oregon history.
There's never a good time to hold a knock-down, drag-out fight among a state's business, union and political leaders. But with Oregon suffering double-digit unemployment and more "economic stress" than almost any other state, this is a particularly lousy moment to battle it out over business taxes.
And yet here we go, with all sides busily raising money and preparing to fight to the bitter end -- a Jan. 26 election -- over the new taxes raised by the Legislature. We're not ready yet to take a position on the referendums, but it's not too soon to urge the campaigns to stick to the facts and avoid claims and tactics that could further harm Oregon's economy and its reputation as a place to do business.
We're already hearing, for example, assertions that Oregon is a high-tax state that puts crippling burdens on companies that do business here. That is simply untrue. The Tax Foundation, which has conducted independent, widely respected comparisons of state tax policies for more than 70 years, ranks Oregon an impressive ninth among states in its "Business Tax Climate Index" for 2009.
