By Portland Metro Chamber,
Citing the Portland City Charter and Oregon Constitution, the Chamber argued that the city cannot increase taxes without voter approval.
October 1, 2026 — Portland, OR — The Portland Metro Chamber filed a legal complaint today against the City of Portland in Oregon Tax Court, challenging Portland City Council’s recent actions to increase and change the Arts Tax without voter approval.
In a 7 to 5 vote in May, Portland City Council passed changes to the Arts Tax without referring to voters, including increasing the rate by 40 percent from $35 to $50 and linking the tax to inflation into the future.
The Chamber’s filing articulates that under the city’s charter and the Oregon Constitution however, the city must have approval from voters before increasing existing taxes or adopting new taxes that are not otherwise authorized by state statute. The litigation does not dispute the importance of what the Arts Tax funds, but how the council enacted changes without consent from voters.
Today’s action follows over a year and a half of engagement by the Chamber with the city. After alerting the council of the issue in 2025, the Chamber provided an in-depth legal analysis of the taxing authority of the city, joined with community to oppose changes to the Portland Clean Energy Surcharge without voter consent, further urged the council during the Arts Tax conversation earlier this year, and provided clear explanations of how the Chamber would respond should the city approve changes to the tax without referring to voters. In May, the council still enacted changes to the Arts Tax without voter approval.
The litigation does not challenge the increased filing threshold, which would exempt people earning incomes less than $20,000 from paying the tax. It specifically challenges the $15 increase and added linkage to inflation. If the lawsuit is successful, those changes would not go into effect, and the tax that voters approved in 2012 would continue — Portlanders would still pay the $35 Arts Tax and the funding would continue paying for programs.
The Chamber urges the city to demonstrate its commitment to democratic values by providing residents more opportunities to vote, not less. Voters should have the opportunity to consider and approve changes to the Arts Tax.
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