January 2, 2019
Page 13
O PINION
MCS Still in
Business
Martin
Cleaning
Service
Carpet & Upholstery
Cleaning
Residential &
Commercial Services
Minimum Service CHG.
$50.00
A small distance/travel
charge may be applied
CARPET CLEANING
2 Cleaning Areas or more
$30.00 each Area
Pre-Spray Traffic Areas
(Includes: 1 small Hallway)
1 Cleaning Area (only)
$50.00
Includes Pre-Spray Traffic Area
and Hallway
Stairs (12-16 stairs - With
Other Services) : $30.00
Heavily Soiled Area:
$10.00 each area
(Requiring Pre-Spray)
Offshore Corporate Tax Avoidance Adds Up
Clamp down
could net $376
million
d aniel h auSer and J uan
c arloS o rdóñez
Large multinational corpora-
tions would have a harder time
shielding their profits from Ore-
gon taxes if the state reinstated
a law it discarded in the 1980s.
According to a new report by
the Oregon Center for Public
Policy (OCPP), by once again
requiring the complete report-
ing of corporate profits, Oregon
could net an additional $376 mil-
lion in revenue.
Large corporations have min-
imized their Oregon tax bill for
years by hiding profits over-
seas. This has pulled hundreds
of millions of dollars from Ore-
gon schools. Complete reporting
would make corporations come
clean about all of their profits
taxable in Oregon.
Due in part to offshore tax
avoidance, the corporate in-
come tax today makes up a much
smaller fraction of all income
taxes collected by the state than
by
it did four decades ago.
Offshore tax avoidance in-
volves shifting profits from the
place they were earned to a place
that levies little or no taxes on
corporate income, said Hauser.
Because this strategy requires
having subsidiaries in different
jurisdictions, it is large, multina-
tional corporations that employ
it.
Under current law, Oregon
only gets to tax a corporation’s
share of U.S. profits attributed
to Oregon, even if those profits
have been reduced by the corpo-
ration’s artificial shifting of prof-
its abroad.
But with complete reporting
— which Oregon followed until
1984 — Oregon would tax the
share of a multinational corpo-
ration’s global profits equal to
the share of that corporation’s
sales in the state. For example, if
Oregon accounted for 5 percent
of a multinational corporation’s
global sales, Oregon would tax 5
percent of the company’s global
profits.
The Oregon Center for Public
Policy estimated complete re-
porting would result in Oregon
collecting about $376 million
per budget period. This is a con-
servative estimate.
Ultimately, the tax would be
paid by the shareholders of these
large multinational corporations.
The report estimated 89 percent
of the tax would be paid by for-
eign and out-of-state investors.
Of the tax paid in Oregon, the
richest 1 percent would pay a
few hundred dollars more each
year, while the bottom 80 per-
cent would pay next to nothing.
Reinstating complete reporting
ought to be a priority for an Or-
egon Legislature that is looking
to find a way to better fund our
schools and essential services.
Making large multinational cor-
porations pay their fair share is
common sense.
Daniel Hauser is policy an-
alyst and Juan Carlos Ordóñez
is communications director for
the Oregon Center for Public
Policy.
Area/Oriental Rug Cleaning
Regular Area Rugs
$25.00 Minimum
Wool Oriental Rugs
$40.00 Minimum
UPHOLSTERY
CLEANING
Sofa: $70.00
Loveseat: $50.00
Sectional: $110 - $140
Chair or Recliner:
$25.00 - $50.00
Throw Pillows (With
Other Services) : $5.00
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SERVICES
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• Deodorizing & Pet
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• Spot & Stain
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• Scotchguard Protection
• Minor Water Damage
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