world beat
Panel approves
sales tax bill
SALEM (AP) — The House
Revenue Committee
unanimously approved a sales
tax plan on Wednesday, clear
ing it for a vote by the full
House on Friday.
Committee Chair Tom
Throop, D-Bend, predicted the
package will get at least 40
favorable votes in the
60-member House.
If it wins House approval, the
three-bill package will go to the
Senate. If both chambers agree
on a final version of the plan,
the sales tax will be submitted
to the voters at a special
statewide election.
The House panel set Sept. 17
as the election date.
The committee spent a month
working on the proposed 5 per
cent sales package advocated by
Gov. Vic Atiyeh. The major
alteration made by the panel
was to earmark some sales tax
revenue for reducing income
taxes. Atiyeh initially recom
mended that all money from the
sales tax be used to cut local
property taxes but last week
agreed to the revision.
The state would net an
estimated $755 million a year
from the 5 percent retail sales
tax.
The money all would go to
local schools and community
colleges, cutting property taxes
by about one-third and reducing
state income taxes by roughly 9
percent.
If approved by voters, the tax
would take effect May 1, 1986,
and would apply to most goods
but not to services. Items ex
empt from the tax would in
clude food for home consump
tion and prescription drugs.
The 5 percent tax rate would
be in the state constitution, so it
couldn’t be increased without
voter approval.
The plan would reduce in
come taxes by decreasing the
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rates from a range of 4 percent
to 10 percent to a range of 3.7
percent to 9.3 percent.
The Legislative Revenue Of
fice estimates that would cut an
nual income taxes for a typical
family of four making $25,000 a
year by $111. A couple with
that income would get a tax cut
of $109, a single person $114
School district property tax
bases could, as now, rise by 6
percent a year without voter
approval.
Districts could ask voters to
override that restriction by
adopting new property tax
bases, but only at primary and
general election in even
numbered years. In addition,
voters could petition for a tax
base election to be held in May
of odd-numbered years.
Cities and counties couldn’t
adopt local sales taxes.
Retailers would be allowed to
keep 2 percent of sales tax
receipts to cover costs of collec
ting and sending the money to
the state.
Four anti-bias
bills introduced
SALEM (AP) — The Senate
Education Committee has in
troduced several bills aimed at
dealing with discrimination in
the State System of Higher
Education.
A committee summary says
the panel introduced the
measures Monday in response
to issues raised by women facul
ty m?piber£ in a se?( dipcripiina
TiOrtlaWsuIf Against "the College
System that was tried in U.S.
District Court in Portland.
Judge Helen Frye last week
ruled, in the case called Penk
vs. Board of Higher Education,
that there was sex discrimina
tion in only three of the 58
claims filed in the lawsuit.
Women faculty members say
the decision will be appealed to
the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals.
One biil introduced by the
Senate committee would re
quire the higher education
board to adopt a written salary
schedule and hiring and
employment policies and to
draft a plan for eliminating any
pay discrepancies based on sex
or minority status.
Another measure would
create an office of special equity
hearings to handle complaints
of discrimination in the college
system.
Other bills would put two col
lege faculty members on the
higher education board and
transfer authority for enforcing
anti-discrimination rules from
the college system to the Civil
Rights Division of the Bureau of
Labor & Industries.
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