Wednesday, April 11, 2018 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Obituary
Woman violates order by
responding to request for help
Robert “Bob” Anthony Johnston Jr.
January 16, 1945 — February 17, 2018
Bob Johnston was born in
Galesburg, Illinois.
He is survived by his
wife, Darlene; his three
sisters: Helen, Marilyn,
and Carolyn. He had two
sons, Tim and Jay, and a
daughter, Laura. He had
six grandchildren and two
great-grandchildren.
Bob graduated from
high school in San Diego
and served in the Marine
Reserves before starting
his construction business.
He was an avid golfer and
enthusiastic coach of Little
League baseball.
He was later the owner
of an apparel manufactur-
ing business in Southern
California before retiring to
Sisters. He enjoyed the rodeo
and always participated in
the Sisters parades driving
one of his classic cars.
A Celebration of Life
will be held 5 p.m. Saturday,
April 21 at the Brand 33
restaurant located at Aspen
Lakes. In lieu of flowers the
family requests donations
be made to the youth sports
organization of your choice.
Governor signs tax bill, calls special session
By Tom James
Associated Press
PORTLAND (AP) —
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown said
Friday she’ll call a special
legislative session before the
end of June to broaden certain
tax breaks.
Brown made the
announcement when she also
said she would sign a con-
troversial measure passed by
her fellow Democrats in the
Legislature to keep Oregon
from losing more than $200
million as a result of President
Donald Trump’s federal tax
overhaul. Unlike most other
states Oregon’s coffers were
due to take a hit because of
the overhaul, due to a quirk in
the way the state figures fed-
eral deductions for state tax
purposes.
“We anticipate a one-day
special session,” said Brown,
who added that she had
already been in conversation
with legislative leaders about
the move. A spokesman for
Brown added that keeping the
session to a single day would
require a supermajority vote
in the Legislature to suspend
normal operating rules.
The goal of the special
session will be to expand the
list of small businesses eli-
gible for preferential treat-
ment under Oregon’s state tax
laws. Brown described broad-
ening the state tax breaks as a
way to balance out a different
bonus that would be blocked
under the state tax bill.
The state tax bill — Senate
Bill 1528 — targets the
effects of the Trump overhaul.
Because of the way Oregon
calculates its residents’ state
income taxes, a new tax break
created in the Trump overhaul
is set to automatically carry
over into state calculations.
That would allow business
owners to effectively benefit
twice: once when they took
the deduction on their fed-
eral taxes, and once when
the same deduction was used
to calculate — and lower —
their state taxes. The state
economist estimated the ben-
efit would cost the state about
$217 million in its first two
years.
The plan Brown will sign
blocks much of that loss, let-
ting residents take the deduc-
tion on their federal taxes, but
not allowing it to be used to
calculate state taxes.
Even as she called the dou-
ble benefit unfair, however,
Brown acknowledged that
it would benefit some small
businesses that are currently
not eligible for some Oregon
tax breaks. In the special ses-
sion, Brown said, she will ask
legislators to add a new class
of businesses — sole propri-
etorships — to the list of those
eligible for special treatment
on their Oregon taxes.
Sole proprietorships often
include independent contrac-
tors and others who do busi-
ness without employees or
any larger business structure.
Brown said she did not
have any estimate of how
much expanding the tax break
would cost the state, but that
it would be significantly less
than the loss from the Trump
plan.
In a statement after
Brown’s announcement, Rep.
Mike McLane, Republican
minority leader in the state
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House, repeated earlier
Republican objections to SB
1528, and questioned whether
Brown couldn’t have simply
let the Trump benefit carry
over, rather than creating a
new state benefit.
Nonpartisan state econo-
mists had said more than half
of the benefit from the Trump
overhaul would have gone to
the wealthiest five percent of
Oregonians. Brown said she
did not know whether benefits
of the expanded state credit
would be more equitably
distributed, but that sole pro-
prietor businesses tend to be
“mom-and-pop” operations.
Brown said she will con-
vene the session by the end of
June. A spokesman for Brown
said she will sign 1528 next
week.
ROSEBURG (AP) —
A Coos Bay woman who
responded to a man’s
request for assistance has
been arrested for violating
a restraining order that pro-
hibits her from going near
him.
The News-Review reports
Christopher Nelson of Coos
Bay had trouble with his car
Tuesday in Roseburg. He
called 56-year-old Kathryn
Leany for help. Nelson, how-
ever, has a restraining order
against Leany which restricts
her from being within 150
feet of him.
Police lodged Leany at the
Douglas County Jail.
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