Archives

May 22, 2015 - Bipartisan support for 40% health care tax repeal

By NFIB, Democrats and Republicans are coming together on a repeal of perhaps the unlikeliest of matters: a portion of the Affordable Care Act. The repeal centers around a 40 percent tax set to go in effect in 2018. The tax is often referred to as the “Cadillac tax” because […]


May 21, 2015 - Fiber speed race ramps up with CenturyLink’s Portland Prism launch

By Oregon Tax News, Portland is one of the rare cities that is experiencing a future test of technology while navigating through various legislative and legal hurdles. This month, CenturyLink has launched a cable TV service in Portland, giving Portland viewers an alternative to Comcast for the first time. The […]


May 20, 2015 - 5 tax bills to watch in Legislature

Associated Oregon Industries Oregon’s largest business advocate Here are the tax-related bills that have the attention of AOI and the business community: HB 3125 extends the machinery and equipment (M&E) personal property tax exemption for bakeries, egg producers, and dairy producers. The bill is sponsored and being pushed by the […]


May 19, 2015 - Belaboring Labor

Shawn Narancich, CFA, VP Research Ferguson Wellman, Portland Investors unnerved by disappointing economic data of late breathed a sigh of relief with the April jobs report, which showed that nonfarm payrolls rebounded to a monthly rate of 223,000 last month. Unemployment dropped again and now stands at 5.4 percent, a […]


May 18, 2015 - Congressmen Blumenauer on 60 Minutes on road funding

By Taxpayer Foundation of Oregon Oregon Congressman Earl Blumeneaur was featured on one of the nation’s most watched programs, 60 Minutes, over infrastructure funding for funding of our bridges, roads and rails. The show revives the debate over funding (which can be a complex topic: gas tax changes, per-mile taxes, […]


May 15, 2015 - Referral-based hiring trend lands most US jobs

By Dr. Eric Fruits, Econ Minute Firms often use referrals from existing employees to hire new workers. About 50 percent of US jobs are found through informal referral networks and about 70 percent of firms have programs encouraging referral-based hiring. One can argue that the social networking site LinkedIn is mostly a referral-based job board […]


May 14, 2015 - Economic drags & the Outlook

By Josh Lehner Oregon Office of Economic Analysis Blog So far in early 2015, the U.S. economic data flow has been relatively lackluster, including the disappointing March jobs report. As such, now is a good time to take a step back and mark one’s economic beliefs to market, to borrow […]


May 13, 2015 - Hiring felons bill gains attention

By Jan Meekcoms Oregon NFIB Bill would ‘put the employer in a hiring straitjacket.’ Oregon is considering a “ban the box” law that would eliminate questions about felony convictions on employment applications. But small business owners say House Bill 3025 would limit the ability of a small business owner to […]


May 12, 2015 - Two bills could hurt Uber and Lyft in Oregon

By Technology Association of Oregon. Why TAO is in opposition of HB 2237 and HB 2995 We write to you in opposition of HB 2237 and HB 2995 as written, and with the -2 amendments to HB 2995. These bills would place burdensome, prohibitive and punitive insurance requirements on Transportation […]


May 11, 2015 - NIKE’s message to Obama

NIKE Press release & Speech, Nike Welcomes President Obama to its World Headquarters — Outlines Support for TPP and Vision For Advanced Manufacturing in the U.S. NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) welcomes President Obama to its World Headquarters in support of Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). The company […]