Unions file 6 business tax ballot measures

By  J.L. Wilson
Associated Oregon Industries

Unions are also in the cross-hairs with three initiative petitions.

Right on the heels of the defeat of the $275 million tax package on the House Floor two weeks ago (which would have added $114 million in new taxes per biennium on C-Corps) Oregon’s public employee unions filed six new proposed ballot measures with the Secretary of State, all of which aim to increase taxes on Oregon’s C-corporations.

Here are the proposed measures which add to the Measure 67 tax hikes on C-Corps:

• The “Large Corporations Should Pay Their Fair Share 1” proposal lifts the $100,000 corporate minimum tax cap and replaces it with a 2% gross receipts tax on all revenues above $100 million. It is projected to raise taxes by $1 billion.
• The “Large Corporations Should Pay Their Fair Share 2” proposal lifts the $100,000 corporate minimum tax cap and replaces it with a 1% gross receipts tax on all revenues above $100 million. This is projected to raise taxes by $500 million.
• The “Invest in Oregon’s Future 1” proposal replaces the current corporate minimum tax on C-Corps with $10 million in sales with a gross receipts tax of 0.25%. This is projected to raise taxes by $1.189 billion.
• The “Invest in Oregon’s Future 2” proposal replaces the current corporate minimum tax on C-Corps with a graduated gross receipts tax of 0.25% for Oregon businesses with $10 million in sales to up to 1% for Oregon businesses with $100 million in sales. This is projected to raise taxes by over $2 billion.
• The “Fund Oregon’s Priorities” proposal increases the corporate tax rate on income above $10 million to 10%. This would raise taxes on business by $150 million.
• The “If Corporations are People, Let’s Tax Them Like It” proposal would implement personal income tax rates on C-Corp income, a tax increase of $370 million.

None of these proposals have been assigned initiative petition numbers yet because they have yet to be assigned ballot titles and summaries from the Attorney General’s office. As such, none of these petitions have yet to be approved for circulation.

But three ballot measures which have been filed – and have been assigned initiative petition numbers – would seek to stop the practice of forced membership and forced political involvement of public employee union members.

• Initiative Petition 1 is a statutory measure that prohibits public employee payroll deductions to unions if the money is used for political purposes. If it receives the required 87,000 signatures, this measure could appear on the November 2014 ballot.
• Initiative Petition 2 is a constitutional measure that prohibits public employee payroll deductions to unions if the money is used for political purposes. If it receives the required 116,000 signatures, this measure would appear on the November 2014 ballot.

Initiative Petition 9 is a statutory measure that prohibits the compulsory payment of union dues by public employees who choose not to join a union. Otherwise known as a “right to work” law, it would apply only to public sector unions. If it receives the required 87,000 signatures, the measure could appear on the November 2014 ballot.

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