The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current, October 02, 2017, Image 2

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Newspaper Page Text2A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • MONDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2017 Federal tax reform plan could cost Oregonians in state and local taxes from their federal income taxes. About half of the money deducted came from ﬁ lers who earned between $100,000 and $500,000 that year. Paul Warner, the head of the nonpartisan Legislative Revenue Ofﬁ ce, said in a Sep- tember presentation to the Oregon Senate Finance and Revenue Committee that the repeal of the deduction could “disproportionately affect tax- payers” in Oregon. The policy affects states differently because state taxes differ. Oregon, for example, has a relatively high income tax, but no statewide sales tax. About 29 percent of Ore- gon taxpayers could see fed- eral tax increases as a result Proposal to end state and local tax deduction By CLAIRE WITHYCOMBE Capital Bureau SALEM — Oregonians could see their federal tax bills increase if a key deduction is overturned by Congress, as a tax reform plan unveiled by the Trump administration suggests. The tax break, called SALT by tax wonks, allows taxpayers who itemize their deductions to subtract the amount they pay in state and local taxes from their taxable income. In 2015, Oregonians deducted nearly $5.9 billion of a repeal of the deduction, according to ﬁ gures Warner cited that were compiled by State Tax Notes, a specialty publication. State Tax Notes calculated an average increase of $573. The change wouldn’t likely take place in isolation, though, as the tax plan made public last week also calls for other changes, such as reducing fed- eral personal and corporate income tax rates. Oregon would likely see dramatic effects if any substan- tial changes are made to federal tax policy, legislative econo- mists said earlier this year. “While the ultimate form of federal tax reform is highly uncertain, Oregon is uniquely positioned to experience sig- niﬁ cant revenue effects both A GOP plan to reform the federal tax code could cost Oregonians the deduction of state and local taxes, which totaled $5.9 billion in 2015. positive and negative,” they noted in a March report. Not only does Oregon auto- matically connect itself to any change in federal tax bases, but economists also cited the state’s heavy reliance on the personal income tax and it’s “one-of-a-kind” kicker pol- icy that refunds income tax revenues when they arrive in excess of projections. Key Oregon lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have criticized the state’s reliance on the income tax for some time now. But the Legislature is unlikely to make big changes to state taxes until 2019, due both to the issue’s complexity and political sensitivity. Warner made his presen- tation on the heels of a legis- lative session where lawmak- ers, the business lobby and union groups were still smart- ing from a tough union-backed ballot measure campaign to create a tax on corporate sales. Uncertainty about federal reforms was another reason for legislative “foot-dragging” when it came to big changes to the state’s system in this year’s session, said s tate Sen. Mark Hass, D-Beaverton. Hass is a leading advocate for restruc- turing state taxes. Could the repeal of the state and local deduction by a Trump White House and a Republican-led Congress actu- ally provide fuel for largely Democratic Oregon to tinker with its tax structure? Potentially, Hass said. But he’s not holding his breath to see what Congress does on taxes. He pointed to c ongressional efforts to over- turn the Affordable Care Act, which have thus far ﬁ zzled, and, he said, could have had a bigger impact on Oregon’s budget. The Capital Bureau is a collaboration between EO Media Group and Pamplin Media Group. Supreme Court case could drain Oregon’s public-sector unions The justices will hear the case of Mark Janus, a child support specialist at the Illi- nois Department of Health- care and Family Services, who objects to paying fees to the union. A decision to strike down the law would reverse a nearly 40-year precedent that the By PARIS ACHEN Capital Bureau The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to consider strik- ing down mandatory fees that support collective bargaining by public-sector labor unions in Oregon and several other states. court set in 1977 to permit the mandatory fees. “The case has the potential to kill public sector unionism as we know it,” said Keith Cun- ningham-Parmeter, a law pro- fessor at Willamette University who specializes in labor law. “Mandatory dues are the life- blood of most unions so if the FIVE-DAY FORECAST FOR ASTORIA TONIGHT TUESDAY WEDNESDAY 71 45 45 A moonlit sky Tillamook 40/68 Last Oct 12 Coos Bay 45/70 First Oct 19 Source: Jim Todd, OMSI TOMORROW'S TIDES Astoria / Port Docks Time 6:28 a.m. 6:49 p.m. Low 0.1 ft. 1.0 ft. Klamath Falls 30/62 Lakeview 26/57 Ashland 38/70 REGIONAL CITIES City Baker City Bend Brookings Eugene Ilwaco Klamath Falls Medford Newberg Newport North Bend Hi 57 55 64 65 64 55 64 65 61 64 Today Lo 31 31 49 39 48 30 38 44 44 45 W pc pc s pc pc pc pc pc pc pc Hi 59 56 73 72 67 62 73 71 67 70 Tues. Lo 28 28 51 36 49 29 40 42 46 45 W pc s s s s s s s s s City Olympia Pendleton Portland Roseburg Salem Seaside Spokane Springfi eld Vancouver Yakima Hi 64 61 64 66 66 65 55 64 63 67 Today Lo 38 34 45 41 42 45 38 39 43 38 W pc pc pc pc pc pc pc pc pc pc Hi 69 62 71 73 72 69 58 72 69 68 Tues. Lo 35 36 44 42 41 46 35 37 42 33 W s s s s s s pc s s s TOMORROW'S NATIONAL WEATHER NATIONAL CITIES Hi 78 66 81 56 84 75 89 53 87 80 85 78 77 81 86 76 83 72 84 75 85 53 72 63 76 Burns 22/58 Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2017 Tonight's Sky: The Big Dipper stands in the north- west early this evening. The dipper is part of Ursa Major, the big bear. Today Lo 62 51 64 35 67 54 64 37 74 60 67 58 61 70 80 63 77 56 68 54 66 36 54 47 55 Ontario 38/64 Roseburg 41/73 Brookings 50/77 Oct 27 Baker 31/59 John Day 32/58 Bend 31/56 Medford 38/73 UNDER THE SKY High 7.8 ft. Prineville 29/59 Lebanon 39/72 Eugene 39/72 New La Grande 33/58 Salem 42/72 Newport 44/67 Sunset tonight ........................... 6:53 p.m. Sunrise Tuesday .......................... 7:17 a.m. Moonrise today .......................... 5:43 p.m. Moonset today ............................ 3:36 a.m. City Atlanta Boston Chicago Denver Des Moines Detroit El Paso Fairbanks Honolulu Indianapolis Kansas City Las Vegas Los Angeles Memphis Miami Nashville New Orleans New York Oklahoma City Philadelphia St. Louis Salt Lake City San Francisco Seattle Washington, DC Mostly sunny and pleasant Pendleton 34/62 The Dalles 42/71 Portland 45/71 SUN AND MOON Time 12:47 p.m. none Comfortable with plenty of sunshine Shown is tomorrow's weather. Temperatures are tonight's lows and tomorrow's highs. ASTORIA 45/71 Precipitation Sunday ............................................. 0.09" Month to date ................................... 0.09" Normal month to date ....................... 0.11" Year to date .................................... 53.30" Normal year to date ........................ 40.35" Oct 5 70 50 REGIONAL WEATHER Astoria through Sunday. Temperatures High/low ....................................... 62°/47° Normal high/low ........................... 65°/47° Record high ............................ 78° in 1952 Record low ............................. 35° in 1983 Full FRIDAY 71 49 Mostly sunny and pleasant Sunny and pleasant ALMANAC THURSDAY 72 47 W s s pc pc pc s s pc pc s pc s pc pc t s r s pc s s pc s pc s Hi 78 66 84 57 78 80 88 56 87 83 78 82 75 84 86 85 85 72 80 75 84 61 74 67 76 Tues. Lo 60 53 68 40 56 66 68 42 76 63 64 61 59 67 79 58 75 56 67 53 68 43 56 45 56 Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day. W s s pc pc c s s pc pc pc t s pc pc t s t s t s pc pc s s s Supreme Court says that unions can no longer collect those dues, that is going to be a seri- ous cut to the union budgets.” A reversal would likely drain the monetary resources and activities of public-sector unions in 22 states, including Oregon, where obligatory fees are legal. The other 28 states that have “right-to-work” laws that make all union dues voluntary have lower union participation rates, according to research by a group of social scientists who support labor unions and ﬁ led an amicus brief against another “right-to-work” case last year. The nation’s four largest public-sector unions — the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employ- ees , the American Federation of Teachers , the National Edu- cation Association and the Ser- vice Employees International Union — criticized the court’s acceptance of the case. “The Janus case is a bla- tantly political and well-funded plot to use the highest court in the land to further rig the eco- nomic rules against everyday working people,” they wrote in a joint statement. “The forces behind this case know that by joining together in strong unions, working peo- ple are able to win the power and voice they need to level the economic and political play- ing ﬁ eld. However, the peo- ple behind this case simply do not believe that working people deserve the same freedoms they have: to negotiate a fair return on their work,” they added. With conﬁ rmation of con- servative Justice Neil Gor- such earlier this year, a rever- sal of existing case law appears likely. Last year, the Supreme Court could not reach a deci- sion in a similar case, Fried- richs v. California Teachers Association. A 4- 4 tie among the justices reverted the case to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which upheld its ear- lier ruling in favor of the teach- ers’ union. “It’s extremely likely that opponents of mandatory fees are going to prevail this time,” Cunningham-Parmeter said. “All of the tea leaves point to Justice Gorsuch providing the ﬁ fth vote to invalidate these … mandatory fees.” Public-sector union ofﬁ cials refer to mandatory fees as “fair share” fees because the money pays for the cost of collective bargaining and pursuing griev- ances. Without mandatory fees, workers who decline to join the union would still reap the bene- ﬁ ts of the union without paying any of the cost. John Larson, executive director of the Oregon Educa- tion Association , said he sees the case as an attack on workers’ rights, but added that the success of unions ultimately depends on “how well can show them the value of our collective voice.” In the 1977 case, Abood v. Detroit Board of Education, the Supreme Court held that public employees could be forced to pay fees for a union’s representational work, but could not be required to pay for political activity. The Janus complaint con- tends that all public sector col- lective bargaining activities are inherently political and hence, mandatory fees amount to government-compelled speech in violation of the First Amendment, according to the Olympia, Washington-based Freedom Foundation, which has supported other right-to- work efforts. Oregon’s public-sector workers are under no obliga- tion to join a union, but they often have to take action to opt out of paying full dues in favor of paying lower “fair share” fees, Cunningham-Parmeter said. While dues might cover the cost of some of the union’s political activities, “fair share” fees are restricted to paying for collective bargaining, griev- ances and other non-political services, the law professor said. Depending on the contract, some workers who decline to join the union still have to pay full dues upfront and then apply for a rebate for the amount of the dues that would have gone toward the union’s political activities. First county needle exchange set The Daily Astorian A pilot needle exchange program will hold its ﬁ rst two events Thursday. Two Clatsop County Health Department staff members and another volunteer will con- duct the exchanges at two locations. The ﬁ rst will take place from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at the cor- ner of 16th Street and Marine Drive, and the other from 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the Knappa Fire District at 43114 Hillcrest Loop. Exchanges will be conducted from a green Dodge van. Operations will be shut down if drug use or paraphernalia is spotted, according to a county press release. All exchanges will be on a one-for-one basis, though the county may hand out multi- ple syringes in the future depending on the case. Those who participate must bring used syringes in containers in order to prevent others from being accidentally stuck. Sharps contain- ers also will be handed out. The program, approved in August by the county Board of Commissioners, is funded through a $50,000 donation from the Friends of Columbia Community Health. PUBLIC MEETINGS MONDAY Warrenton Community Library Board, 5:15 p.m., emergency meeting on library levy, City Hall, 225 S. Main Ave. Astoria City Council, 7 p.m., City Hall, 1095 Duane St. Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain, sf-snow fl urries, sn-snow, i-ice. TUESDAY Community and Senior Center Commission, 10:30 a.m., 1225 Avenue A., Sea- side. Seaside Library Board, 4:30 p.m., 1131 Broadway, Seaside. Miles Crossing Sanitary Sewer District Board, 6 p.m., 34583 U.S. Highway 101 Business. Seaside Planning Commis- sion, 7 p.m., City Hall, 989 Broadway. Saturday’s Powerball: 8-12- 25-41-64, Powerball: 15 Estimated jackpot: $94 million Friday’s Pick 4: 1 p.m.: 5062 4 p.m.: 9268 7 p.m.: 8561 10 p.m.: 3635 Friday’s Lucky Lines: 01-05- 10-13-19-22-28-30 Estimated jackpot: $22,000 Friday’s Mega Millions: 25- 51-62-73-74, Mega Ball: 7 Estimated jackpot: $25 million Sunday’s Match 4: 06-08- 13-20 Saturday’s Daily Game: 6-4-5 Saturday’s Hit 5: 08-11-29- 30-32 Estimated jackpot: $190,000 Saturday’s Keno: 01-04-06- 09-13-16-19-24-28-30-43-47- 50-53-54-60-61-62-66-74 Saturday’s Lotto: 10-28-32- 35-47-49 Estimated jackpot: $4.4 million Saturday’s Match 4: 16-17- 20-23 Friday’s Daily Game: 4-3-1 Friday’s Keno: 06-12-15-17- 26-31-32-38-40-43-44-46-47- 53-57-60-62-64-69-73 Friday’s Match 4: 16-17-18-23 LOTTERIES Your local janitorial and paper supply...and much more! Aura for Bath and Spa Interior Paints r Great fo and projects ! kids LET US HELP YOU COMPLETE YOUR HOME PROJECTS ! 2240 Commercial Street Astoria, Oregon 503.325.6362 www.WalterENelson.com Monday-Friday 8 am to 5 pm Pool, Spa & Fountain •Packing Materials • Cleaning Supplies for Ovens, Grills, Carpet & Upholstery • Vehicle Cleaning Products OREGON Sunday’s Pick 4: 1 p.m.: 5-6-5-4 4 p.m.: 9-5-7-9 7 p.m.: 7-9-3-5 10 p.m.: 4-3-8-8 Sunday’s Lucky Lines: 01-05- 11-13-18-23-28-30 Estimated jackpot: $25,000 Saturday’s Pick 4: 1 p.m.: 8-7-4-2 4 p.m.: 5-6-7-6 7 p.m.: 2-4-9-1 10 p.m.: 9-5-1-2 Saturday’s Lucky Lines: 03- 06-10-14-18-22-25-32 Estimated jackpot: $23,000 Saturday’s Megabucks: 1-11- 15-27-38-42 Estimated jackpot: $8 million WASHINGTON Sunday’s Daily Game: 3-0-6 Sunday’s Keno: 04-07-10-15- 22-27-30-35-37-45-53-54-56- 57-59-65-70-77-78-79 The Daily Astorian Established July 1, 1873 (USPS 035-000) Published daily, except Saturday and Sunday, by EO Media Group, 949 Exchange St., PO Box 210, Astoria, OR 97103 Telephone 503- 325-3211, 800-781-3211 or Fax 503-325-6573. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Daily Astorian, PO Box 210, Astoria, OR 97103-0210 www.dailyastorian.com MEMBER OF THE ASSOCIATED PRESS The Associated Press is entitled exclusively to the use for republication of all the local news printed in this newspaper. SUBSCRIBER TO THE NEW YORK TIMES NEWS SERVICE MEMBER CERTIFIED AUDIT OF CIRCULATIONS, INC. 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