Ballot initiative seeking $750 for every Oregonian likely to make ballot

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A ballot initiative that aims to raise corporate taxes in order to give every Oregon resident an annual $750 rebate could appear on the November ballot.

As of June 14, Initiative Petition 17 has received 135,723 signatures, 18,550 more signatures than the 117,173 required to make the ballot. However, the signatures still need to be verified by the Secretary of State’s Office before the statutory initiative moves forward.

“Could you use $750?” the website for the “Oregon Rebate” movement asks. “The new revenue will be rebated directly to all Oregonians, anyone who's been an Oregonian more than 200 days of the previous year, regardless of age, income, or any other status.”

The proposed measure outlines the following tax rates for Oregon businesses:

If Oregon sales properly reported on a return are:

• (A) Less than $500,000, the minimum tax is $150.
• (B) $500,000 or more, but less than $1 million, the minimum tax is $500.
• (C) $1 million or more, but less than $2 million, the minimum tax is $1,000.
• (D) $2 million or more, but less than $3 million, the minimum tax is $1,500.
• (E) $3 million or more, but less than $5 million, the minimum tax is $2,000.
• (F) $5 million or more, but less than $7 million, the minimum tax is $4,000.
• (G) $7 million or more, but less than $10 million, the minimum tax is $7,500.
• (H) $10 million or more, but less than $25 million, the minimum tax is $15,000.
• (I) $25 million or more, but less than $50 million, the minimum tax is $30,000.
• (J) $50 million or more, but less than $75 million, the minimum tax is $50,000.
• (K) $75 million or more, but less than $100 million, the minimum tax is $75,000.
• (L) $100 million or more, the minimum tax is $100,000

The Oregon State Legislature website states that Oregon’s current corporate income and excise taxes used a two-tiered system which applies a 6.6% rate to taxable income up to $1 million, and a 7.6% rate to taxable income above $1 million. Special interest groups like Oregon Business and Industry and the Tax Foundation are openly opposed to the initiative The Oregonian first reported. Tax Foundation Vice President of State Projects Jared Walczak said that the proposed tax would “yield sky-high business tax rates.”

“Oregon is one of only two states, with Delaware, to impose both a gross receipts and a corporate income tax,” Walczak wrote in an opinion piece about the IP-17. “This already yields one of the highest business tax burdens in the country.”

Oregon Rebate, meanwhile, argues that most businesses would be unaffected by the tax.

“If you are an owner-operated business, your in-state revenue is probably less than $25 million per year or $68,493 every single day, which is below the threshold for the proposed higher minimum tax,” the Oregon Rebate website states. “In fact, there's only 2,000 that report more than $25 million of yearly revenue, you are probably not one of them and congratulations if you are.”

A petition can be filed in Oregon for any election. Petitions must go through a sponsorship phase, receive a ballot title and go through a ballot title appeal process before making it on a ballot. The deadline to submit signatures for the 2024 general election is July 5.