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February 5, 2016 CapitalPress.com 11 Senator proposes corporate tax alternative By HILLARY BORRUD and PARIS ACHEN Capital Bureau SALEM — A lawmaker from Beaverton Monday in- troduced a proposal to cut in- come taxes for many low- and middle-income Oregonians and levy a new tax on corporations. Sen. Mark Hass, D-Bea- verton, pitched the concept as an alternative to a corporate tax measure proposed for the November ballot by the union- backed group Our Oregon. Hass and Democratic leaders in the Oregon Senate would like to avoid a bitter and expensive political battle between busi- ness and labor groups, which many people expect if the Our Oregon measure goes to voters. Hass’ package would elim- Hillary Borrud/EO Media Group Sen. Mark Hass, D-Beaverton, Monday pitched the concept as an alternative to a corporate tax measure proposed for the November ballot by the union-backed group Our Oregon. inate the state’s corporate in- come tax and instead impose a 0.39 percent tax on all corpora- tions’ sales in Oregon, a model that Ohio adopted in 2006. As a result, the tax base is much larger and the rate is lower than in the Our Oregon initiative, which would impose an ad- ditional 2.5 percent tax on the Oregon sales of certain corpo- rations in excess of $25 million. His bill has support from Senate Democrat leadership, but faces a major hurdle in the Oregon House, where Dem- ocratic leaders have so far re- fused to consider an alternative corporate tax measure. Any tax legislation must originate in the House. Senate Majority Leader Ginny Burdick, D-Portland, said resistance from business and labor groups to any alter- native has also dulled the pros- pects for legislation. “There just has not been the kind of interest that you need to make a move like this and have it succeed,” Burdick said. “It just does not exist right now.” Senate Democrats on Mon- day listed tax reform as one of their priorities for the 2016 session, even though they ac- knowledged the issues would likely receive nothing more than discussion. In addition to upping corporate taxes, Senate Democrats said they want to look at other ways to relieve the state’s inordinate reliance on income taxes by reforming “kicker” refunds and the prop- erty tax system. “When people ask me per- sonally what is the one thing we could do to help Oregon, I say completely revamp our tax system,” said Senate Majority Whip Sen. Elizabeth Steiner Hayward, D-Beaverton. “We see the crises we have every time we have a recession be- cause we are so dependent on our personal income tax so we need to think about that.” Hass said the Legislature could either pass its own corpo- rate tax plan, or refer a measure to voters in November. “While the rhetoric contin- ues to escalate, a compromise is now sitting here on the shelf,” Hass said. “It’s transparent, easy to understand and substan- tiated by credible economists. The legislature could pass this plan today.” But Hass said lawmakers could hold a special session to pass a tax bill, just as it did in 2012 to help Nike. “At stake then was 500 jobs,” Hass said. Hass’ proposal could lead to the creation of 4,454 new jobs, with 2,903 in the public sector and 1,551 in the private sector, according analysis by legisla- tive economists. Most of the public jobs would be teachers. Brown revises wage proposal downward By PARIS ACHEN Capital Bureau SALEM — Gov. Kate Brown’s minimum wage pro- posal apparently was unpop- ular enough that the governor revised it Friday. Brown’s revised plan sets lower minimums than the orig- inal and begins boosting wag- es to $9.75 six months earlier, starting in July 2016. Under the new proposal, the minimum would gradually climb from the existing $9.25 to $14.50 in the Portland metro area and $13.25 in the rest of the state by 2022. Her former plan called for minimums of $15.52 in the Portland area and $13.50 in the rest of the state by 2022. “Based on feedback from stakeholders, I have reined my proposal, beginning imple- mentation in 2016, so workers get higher pay sooner, and extending the glide path to give businesses more time to prepare for higher wages,” Brown said in a statement. The iscal ofice released a report Friday that analyzed the cost to state government in one biennium of hiking the minimum immediately to $13.50 or $15 per hour. Legislative Fiscal Oficer Ken Rocco said the actual cost per biennium is dificult to calculate because there are multiple proposals, and all of the proposals raise the wage gradually rather than all at once. “It would never happen all at once,” Rocco said. “No one is going to say we are go- ing to raise minimum wage from $9.25 to $13.50. It’s all phased in.” Immediately boosting Ore- gon’s minimum wage to $15 an hour could cost the state in excess of $140 million next biennium, according to the analysis. The estimate excludes costs to local governments and any indirect costs such as higher paid public employees who might seek a correspond- ing raise. Costs to K-12 education would be around $52 mil- lion. Pay for certain classi- ied public employees such as entry-level assistants and custodians would cost $4.8 million. Universities estimate their costs would be on order of $75 million in the next bi- ennium. The cost would be between $5.25 million and $9 million for community col- leges, under the governor’s previous plan. Higher education oficials “point out that, in general, an increase in wages for student workers is likely to reduce other assistance the students receive, including federal aid,” the iscal ofice report stated. The higher minimums also could affect workers’ eligibil- ity for state assistance such the Oregon Health Plan, food assistance program, school lunch programs, subsidized preschool, and student inan- cial aid. It’s unclear how much a $15 minimum would cost local governments, including school districts. Oregon Employment Department data suggest an increase to $13.50 could cost about $50 million more per bi- ennium for local governments, according to the legislative is- cal ofice. Linn County commission- ers conducted their own esti- mate in which they forecast Brown’s previous minimum wage proposal could cost lo- cal governments $450 to $500 million dollars a year. The commissioners wrote in a letter to Brown that they believe the former proposal was “inancially irresponsible” and an unfunded mandate. 6-2/#13 • Teach by doing, not just telling Agricultural education teaches students about agriculture, food and natural resources. Through these subjects, agricultural educators teach students a wide variety of skills, including science, math, communications, leadership, management and technology. • Share their passion for agriculture • Create lessons that are hands-on • Reach students, including those who might not be successful in a traditional classroom • Teach about cutting edge topics, like cloning, satellite mapping, biofuels, alternative energy and more. • Travel in state, nationally, and even internationally. • Work with new and emerging technology from agribusiness companies. Ag teachers never have the same day twice. One day they might be in a classroom or laboratory, the next visiting students in the field, preparing teams for an FFA Career Development Event, or leading a community service activity with their FFA Chapter. Currently there is a national shortage of agricultural educators at the secondary level. It is estimated that there will be hundreds of unfilled positions across the United States this year, simply because not enough students are choosing to be agricultural educators. 6-2/#13
