Poll: Public wary of new business taxes, regulations


By Oregon Business and Industry

With the COVID-19 pandemic continuing and the public barred from the Capitol, a majority of Oregonians believe state legislators should focus on priorities, take care of critical business and leave broad legislative agendas for another time, according to a poll conducted early this month.

Funded by the Oregon Business & Industry Foundation, the telephone survey of 500 registered voters was conducted by Moore Information Jan. 4-7. The clear message was that normal legislative business as usual does not make sense during this unusual time.

– 64% of the respondents said the Legislature should put on the brakes enacting any new taxes and regulations on businesses struggling to recover from the economic devastation of the pandemic.
– 73% said the state should not raise taxes on business in the face of the more than 40% increase in state business tax burden since 2019.
– 76% said the state should not raise tax on households.
– 62% opposed taking away the tax benefits of the federal CARES Act, which has been proposed by some lawmakers.
– And COVID remains a significant concern, with 68% saying they are concerned that they or a member of their family will contract disease, and 68% saying they will get the vaccine when it is available.

“The top priority for Oregonians is getting on the road to economic recovery and rebuilding, putting Oregonians back to work and regaining family stability. A strong and healthy business community is critical to this effort,” said OBI President and CEO Sandra McDonough. “This is not a time for sweeping new legislative mandates, new taxes and new regulations. We hope the Legislature will join us in supporting this message from Oregonians.”

You can find results of the survey here. Overall sampling error is plus/minus 4%


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