By Bullard Law, Portland law firm THE YEAR ENDS, THE YEAR BEGINS: 2013 WORKPLACE ISSUES THAT WILL CONTINUE TO BE STORIES IN 2014 Although 2013 is now in the rearview mirror, the shadow it casts looms large before us. Here are five stories from 2013 (Affordable Care Act, Portland Sick […]

Rural Lawmakers Focus on Tax Deal for Small Businesses Oregon Small Business Association, In a December, 2012 special session, Oregon created a corporate tax structure for Nike, known as the single sales factor. The agreement could also benefit other large corporations, such as Intel. The structure guarantees that corporate taxes […]

By Bob Clark, Guest writer Cascade Policy Institute The 2013 Oregon legislative session approved State Treasurer Ted Wheeler’s Oregon Opportunity Initiative for referral to voters, with a vote scheduled in November 2014. If passed by voters, this measure would have the State of Oregon issue General Obligation bonds, give all […]

By Josh Lehner Oregon Office of Economic Analysis Blog.. At the start of the year there was a potentially scary report by the Census Bureau and highlighted by The Oregonian. The headline says it all: “Kid heavy states? In the West, yes, but not Oregon.” Scary because we’re looking at […]

Michael Hendrix Director, Research & Emerging Issues U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation What will the next big thing be? Will it be Samsung’s bendable TV; Intel’s smart earbuds that track speed, location, and heart rate; or the TouchJet PTE that transforms a blank wall into an interactive tablet? Or will […]

University of Oregon Regional Economic Indexes By Tim Duy Oregon Economic Forum University of  Oregon The Oregon economy continued to post moderate gains in November. Highlights of the report include: – The Oregon Measure of Economic Activity rose to 0.39 in November, up from a revised -0.02 the previous month. […]

by J.L. Wilson Associated Oregon industries The new year brings with it new changes to business costs and regulations. Many of the laws passed by the Oregon Legislature are effective on the 1st of January. Your business association, AOI, is instrumental in the shaping of many of these policies. Here’s […]

Barran Liebman Oregon Law Firm IRS Offers Restaurants a Tip:”Mandatory Gratuities” Are Not Tips Service charges need to be reported differently than tips under the IRS guidelines and a Revenue Ruling that went into effect on January 1, 2014. Therefore, it is important for service industry employers to properly classify […]

By Oregon State Treasurer   Treasurer: Consultants’ analysis of proposed CRC appears sound, but more certainty needed on toll enforcement — In letter to legislative leaders, Treasurer says bond buyers will need assurance tolls will be collected As requested by Oregon state legislators, Treasurer Ted Wheeler has offered his review […]

Career Builders Survey, With the New Year just underway, many U.S. workers are already resolving to find a new employer, according to a CareerBuilder survey. Twenty-one percent of full-time employees plan to change jobs in 2014, the largest amount in the post-recession era and up from 17 percent in 2013. […]