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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (July 6, 2019)
A3 THE ASTORIAN • SATURDAY, JULY 6, 2019 What Washington can’t tax, Oregon might Concern over business tax By KATE DAVIDSON Oregon Public Broadcasting On July 1, Washington state stopped letting Oregon shoppers skip paying sales tax at the register, with a few exceptions. Some businesses in s outhwest Washington fear the change will drive away Oregon customers who won’t want to cross the river to shop when there is no sales tax at home. Now it appears some of those businesses might face an additional hurdle in the future. It’s called House Bill 3427 — Oregon’s new busi- ness tax. Take the case of Dan’s Tractor Inc. outside Battle Ground, Washington. Owner Skip Ogden says about 20% of his business came from Oregonians last year. That’s more than $1 million in gross revenue. At fi rst, Ogden worried about losing those customers to the sales tax change. “Knowing these custom- ers like I do, Oregonians do not like to pay sales tax for any reason whatsoever,” he said. But right before the point- of-sale tax exemption ended, Ogden read a special notice from the Washington Depart- ment of Revenue. It basically said: out-of-state deliveries don’t count. If you’re deliver- ing in Oregon, you don’t have to charge retail sales tax. Turns out, Ogden delivers most of the tractors Orego- nians buy from him. “Oh, it’s a big relief,” Ogden said on the phone. “Problem solved.” Enter Oregon HB 3427. Remember Oregon’s big new business tax? The one meant to inject $1 billion a year more into K-12 educa- tion? The one that prompted Republican lawmakers’ fi rst walkout? Gov. Kate Brown signed the tax into law in May, though it could still face a ballot challenge. Even though it’s often described as a tax on large Oregon businesses, if the new tax goes into effect it will also impact some out-of-state companies that do business in Oregon. “It’s a signifi cant revenue policy,” said Chris Allanach, Oregon’s legislative revenue offi cer. Under the law, if out- of-state companies have $750,000 worth of commer- cial activity in Oregon they will have to register with the state. They’ll be subject to the tax itself if they have at least $1 million of commercial activity sourced to Oregon. What does “sourced to Oregon” mean? When it comes to the sale of tangible personal prop- erty, like tractors, the law states commercial activity is sourced to Oregon, “if and to the extent the property is delivered to a purchaser of this state.” “Somebody goes up to Vancouver and buys some- thing and then they sell it into Oregon. Certainly sounds like an Oregon sale,” Alla- nach said. Still, Allanach said, this could be a gray area. Details of the tax’s implementa- tion will be ironed out in the administrative rules process. As for Ogden and his mil- Photos by Kate Davidson/Oregon Public Broadcasting Dan’s Tractor Inc. owner Skip Ogden stands at the counter of his southwest Washington store. lion dollars-plus in annual sales to Oregonians, it’s far from clear he’d have to pay the commercial activities tax. For any company, tax lia- bility depends on fi nancial details — like how much gets spent on labor or the cost to the company of the goods it sells. What is clear is that under HB 3427, more out-of-state businesses will have to reg- ister in Oregon. And what Washington can’t tax, Ore- gon might. ‘KNOWING THESE CUSTOMERS LIKE I DO, OREGONIANS DO NOT LIKE TO PAY SALES TAX FOR ANY REASON WHATSOEVER.’ Skip Ogden | owner of Dan’s Tractor Inc. outside Battle Ground, Washington THE KIDS ARE LOOKING FOR YOU – BE A CASA! Kubota vehicles sit on the lot at Dan’s Tractor Inc. near Battle Ground, Wash. As the moral of the story goes, By working together, with everyone contributing what Thank you so much to all our generous donors and community partners for their help creating a successful Stone Soup Bowl 2019! The Silent Auction CASA VOLUNTEER TRAINING Learn how you can be trained in just a month to make a difference in the life of a child in foster care In-person and online training are combined for all learning styles Classes are free to everyone October 9 th – November 13 th We need volunteers more than ever to advocate for children in foster care. A Court Appointed Special Advocate is a community volunteer who advocates for a child who has been abused or neglected. CASA volunteers work hard to ensure that children in foster care in Clatsop County will have a safe and nurturing permanent home as soon as possible. Join us and make a difference. CLASSES AT CLATSOP COMMUNITY COLLEGE South County Campus Contact us at 503-338-6063 casa@clatsopcasa.org www.clatsopcasa.org Clatsop CASA Program complies with applicable federal civil rights laws and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, disability, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, or age. 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