Gov Kotek's proposed gas tax, fee increases advance -8/29/25
Oregon Governor Kotek compels the legislature to meet over Labor Day weekend to bail out ODOT
It seems highly likely that some increase in Oregon's state gasoline tax and other driving fees will be passed by the Oregon legislature in the next few days. Despite having billions going towards costly but small road capacity projects, ODOT says it will let road maintenance and its blue-collar workers go if it doesn't get more hundreds of millions per year in new tax and fee proceeds.
Here's state Representative Ed Diehl's (R) take on Governor Kotek's ODOT (Oregon Department of Transportation) bailout:
Here's how Canby City Councilor, Traci Hensley, summarizes last night's legislature machinations over Kotek's tax and fee hike proposal:
"In the dark of night....
After an all day long display of political theater, the Oregon
House of Representatives FINALLY achieved quorum, adopted rules and did first readings around 9pm.
(Were they hoping we wouldn't notice?)
The public hearing is scheduled oh so conveniently (sarcasm not just implied) for SUNDAY 8/31 @ Noon.
Hearing room F.
Yes. Sunday. On a holiday weekend!! 
LC2 now has a bill number HB3991is the new transportation extortion bill.
Online testimony is being accepted as of now.
MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD.
Even if you submitted testimony when this bill was a legislative concept (LC2)
Tell them NO MEANS NO.
NO TAX HIKES!
Demand that they live within their means as we have to.
We cannot afford their agenda."
(posted by Elvis Clark on August 30, 2025 in the AM.)
oregon government seeks bailout from its taxpayers
Oregon Governor Kotek calls on the legislature to raise gas taxes, other fees
Pictured above here is state senator Dan Meeks (D), representing Gladstone and other surrounding areas. He help kill the legislature's bill to hike gas taxes by 15 cents per gallon plus hikes in other fees, including a road mileage fee for electric vehicles.
Now Governor Kotek is calling a special session of the legislature with her proposal to increase the state gasoline tax by 6 cents per gallon, raise the vehicle registration fee we pay every two years by $42, and add a wimpy $30 surcharge on electric vehicles (versus making EVs pay more for the roads they use but do not pay gasoline taxes).
What is interesting is Senator Meeks hints that he will support the lower gas tax increase - proposed by the governor - but maybe in exchange for the legislature overturning the congestion pricing, or tolling, of Oregon highways - which is allowed by an Oregon law passed several years ago now. This tolling (congestion pricing) scheme is delayed for now by Governor order, but after that it could come back to bite motorized drivers using Oregon Highways, like I-5 and I-205.
This might be a good trade, gas tax increase for an end to the risk of blanket tolling of Oregon highways. There is a statewide initiative petition (IP-36) which is aimed to allow Oregon voters to reject the tolling of Oregon highways. But it is struggling to gather sufficient signatures to get it onto the ballot for voters.
Here's the link to two special session stories about these transportation tax and fee increases:
Oregon gas tax hike proposed to prevent ODOT layoffs | kgw.com
Key legislator floats tolling repeal and special session – Daily Journal of Commerce
Senator Meek comes out a hero if he can kill blanket tolling of Oregon's highways. Polls show a huge majority of Portland area voters oppose tolling Oregon's highways, especially I-5 and I-205 from Wilsonville to the Oregon-Washington border.
(posted by Elvis Clark on July 25, 2025)
Meanwhile, the City of Milwaukie plans to stick water bill payers with a new $5 - $7 monthly fee
This next month (August 2025) Milwaukie's 5-person City Council plans to impose a new fee on Milwaukie residents. The fee will appear on monthly water bills at a rate of between $5 and $7 - causing the absolute minimum water bill for a homeowner to increase to nearly $100 per month even if the homeowner consumes no water.
For apartment renters, their monthly new fee will be between $3 and $5.
If you are low income, this new fee is waived.
This fee is said to be to fund more police staff in Milwaukie. But this new fee could very well allow City Council and City staff to reduce the Police Department's share of city property tax proceeds.
Like many other governments in Oregon, Milwaukie's city leaders can't seem to prioritize but just continually raise taxes and fees so they can throw out more taxpayer monies.
It is not like Milwaukie hasn't already hiked taxes for expanding the City's spending. Only this last year, Milwaukie increases its tax on natural gas and electric utility bills. This was partly supposed to help fund police staffing. But the other part of the proceeds from Milwaukie's tax on natural gas and electric utilities is being spent on of all things "Climate Change" employees. (Like Milwaukie can do anything materially about the temperature of the earth.)
Then too, Milwaukie City Council and staff are helping subsidize low-income housing - which exacerbates the need for new taxes/fees to increase policing in the face of an expanding Milwaukie population. Low-income people enticed to relocate to the city of Milwaukie because of government handouts, in turn are exempt from paying this new water bill fee. Yet, low-income people often require more police service than if they are middle income or higher income people.
In the case of the new Hillside Park affordable housing project (located across from Milwaukie Providence Hospital), which adds over 300 people to Milwaukie's population, the City receives no property tax proceeds from this County government owned property - shorting Milwaukie's Police Department funding.
(posted by Elvis Clark on July 25, 2025)
Some federal Tax relief for overtime pay, tips, seniors/kids
Trump's Big Beautiful Bill is now law, lowers taxes for workers on tips and overtime plus Seniors
Here's the most notable changes in federal income taxation:
* No taxes on tip income, up to $25,000 per year now tax free for those with incomes no higher than $150,000single and $300, 000 for married filers.
* No taxes on the first $12,00 of overtime pay with same income thresholds as those just mentioned for tip income.
* Seniors get an extra $6,000 in standard deduction against income used to calculate federal income taxes.
* families get a tax credit worth $5,000 per child per year for attending private school.
* parents can set up set up a tax free account for each child - funded by a $1,000 per year federal income tax credit.
* For the next couple of years, tax filers can choose to deduct up to $40,000 for state and local taxes and other itemized deductions, in place of their standard deduction. Reverts to just $10,000 after 2028.
I wonder if the state of Oregon will change its income tax to also exempt tip income and overtime pay in line with the federal income tax changes of the Big Beautiful Bill?
(posted by Elvis Clark on July 7, 2025)
Proposed 12 cent gas hike seems to have failed
Also, dead is a 2.25% "privilege" tax on new car sales, & payroll tax hike
This just in (Saturday morning 6/28/25): The 2025 Oregon legislative session ends without transportation funding tax increases. Here's OPB's reporting on this surprising outcome plus a wrap up of the 2025 Oregon legislative session:
Oregon Legislature adjourns 2025 session as Democrats’ transportation plans stumble - OPB
This just in (Friday evening 6/27/25): the mega Oregon transportation tax and fee hikes proposed by the Oregon legislature (as House Bill 2025) appear to be dead for this year, according to the following OPB news report:
___________________________ Friday morn's post:
Oregon Democrats’ major transportation bill is dead, sources say - OPB
But there is still time in this year's legislative session to pass a smaller transportation tax and fee hike package.
The legislative session is scheduled to end this Monday (6/30/25), close of business. Rumor is that Governor Kotek is threatening some democrat legislators who refuse to vote for House Bill (HB) 2025 with cutting state monies that go to their district - so as to get these legislators to change their vote from a nay to a yay in favor of HB 2025.
(posted by Elvis Clark on June 27, 2025)
There is a small bit of good news for taxpayers involving Metro's homeless income tax
Metro regional government, covering parts of Clackamas, most of Multnomah and Washington counties, is not going to try extending the sunset on its income tax on high income people from the year 2030 to the year 2050. Metro had been discussing putting this extension on this November's special election ballot. Not now.
And Metro is even going to raise the income thresholds that are subject to this tax - this tax subsidizes homelessness and the "non-profits" who provide free services to the homeless in the Portland Metro area.
It is very telling that Metro regional government president Lynn Pederson even admits Portlanders being overtaxed by the likes of such special regional taxes as the Metro homeless income tax.
Portland in 'critical condition,' Metro president warns in State of the Region | kgw.com
Metro votes to index Supportive Housing Services tax to inflation | kgw.com
Oregon democrats serve up more transport taxes and fees
Oregon Democrat legislators running Oregon set to release transportation funding plan, tomorrow.
I guess we should be glad that extremists like Milwaukie's state representative, Mark Gamba, are not fully in charge of the Oregon democrat leadership, because he wants even higher taxes and fees to continue propping up failing institutions like the Oregon Department of Transportation and TriMet. (Gamba is the tall mad man standing out front with white hair, like some kind of socialist Moses, in the photo to the right of here.)
Here is what is being reported as the more moderate Democrat transportation funding plan, which will continue propping up the same failing institutions but at a lesser cost to taxpayers than mad man Gamba's plan:
> Increase the state gasoline tax by 15 cents per gallon.
> Impose a sales tax on the sale of new and used cars to fund the Portland Rose Quarter I-5 project - that is hugely over budget. (would also fund the Abernathy Bridge project).
>Road use fee for all-electric vehicles and electric hybrids. Rate still to be determined.
>Hike the state-wide Payroll tax from 0.1% to 0.3% to bail out transit systems like TriMet whose ridership is in steady decline (reflecting declining demand).
Here's what is good about this transportation funding package in my opinion:
* There is no mention of blanket tolling of Oregon Highways, except for the I-5 Bridge across the Columbia.
* Electric vehicles will now help pay to maintain Oregon highways, whereas they got a free ride before on the back of conventional gasoline car drivers.
Here's what is bad about this transportation funding package in my opinion:
> It helps fund a bloated, at risk of not getting federal funding, Rose Quarter I-5 project. Rose Quarter should be dropped altogether, reducing the need for a car sales tax.
>Upping the payroll tax penalizes people for working, very few of whom use transit. Instead, TriMet maybe should declare bankruptcy with the aim of coming out of bankruptcy with more streamlined operations and lower cost of operation.
Well get ready to submit testimony to the Oregon legislature regarding this transportation funding package this week of June 9 through 13.
Here's the OPB reporting on this Democrat legislative transportation funding proposal:
(posted by Elvis Clark on June 8, 2025)
Milwaukie council may add a new water bill fee
Word is Milwaukie considers adding a fee to fund its police department
There is a growing trend for city councils like Milwaukie City Council to get around the voters by enacting fees onto water and other utility bills - bills that their residents pay. Here is KGW's news reporting on this trend:
Oregon cities fill budget gaps with utility fees, often bypassing voter approval | kgw.com
Property tax increases generally require voter approval whereas fees can be enacted by a simple majority of the City Councilors - or, 3 of 5 Councilors voting yes to fee increases.
Milwaukie Council became interested in enacting a new property tax or a new fee when this last year Milwaukie's finance department forecasts revenue shortfalls for funding basic services - like the Milwaukie police department. Last year's finance forecast for the city of Milwaukie projected shortages for funding basic services beginning in the year 2027. But the latest financial projections show surpluses in basic service funds until the year 2029.
But Milwaukie Council still might consider adding a fee in the next year to fund its police department so as to free up its basic service funds to spend even more on "affordable" housing and economic development.
I have testified to Milwaukie Council that it is already spending too much on economic development - what with its urban renewal district draining the basic service fund accounts by over a million dollars already. And affordable housing is kind of an oxymoron. The City taxes and/or place fees on housing; and then after taking these monies from its residents and making them less able to afford shelter; the City picks its favorites to shower the tax and fee proceeds on. Affordable housing is mostly a government run shell game.
(posted by Elvis Clark on February 14, 2025)
Oregonians forecast to receive modest kicker refund in 2026
Oregon forecasts about $1 billion in surplus tax revenues, allowing Oregon taxpayers small refund
Oregon's state economist forecasts about $1 billion in extra revenues, to be refunded to state taxpayers in 2026 in the form of the Kicker refund (which is shown on the Oregon personal income tax form framed above in green border). The average refund, or refundable Kicker credit against taxes, for each Oregon tax filer with median income would be in a range of $100 to $200, in the 2026 tax filing season. This last tax filing season, April 2024, Oregon taxpayers had an average kicker refund credit against state taxes of $1,000.
So, the next kicker refund will be quite a bit smaller unless the surplus of Oregon state revenues continues to grow bigger this coming fiscal year (2024-2025).
But still, it is better than no refund.
Here's KOIN news reporting on the this latest 2026 Kicker refund estimate: Oregon revenue forecast shows Oregon out of pandemic lull, near $1B kicker (koin.com)
(posted by Elvis Clark on August 29, 2024)
Metro may ask voters to extend its income tax
Metro's Chief Operating Officer wants to ask voters to extend Metro's Homeless Services Tax
Metro Council is lining up to ask voters in Multnomah, Washington and Clackamas Counties (Metro's service territory) to make changes to the income tax approved by voters only a few short years ago (2020) - the income tax is used to fund treatment services for Metro area homeless people.
Metro now wants to use some of the income tax proceeds to build more "affordable" housing. But all three Metro area counties object to shifting funds away from treatment services and into building more permanent shelters for the homeless. The Counties are seeing a bigger need to fund treatment services than to build more permanent shelter for those without homes.
With the recent U.S Supreme Court decision allowing cities and counties more discretion as to how they shelter the homeless, I believe the Counties are right. The counties don't want the income tax and its proceeds used differently than what voters have already approved.
Metro also wants to extend the term of the income tax to beyond its current expiration date of 2030, probably extending it as far out to the year 2035.
Metro also proposes to lower the homeless services income tax from 1% down to 0.75%, and routinely adjust the income threshold levels for inflation - such thresholds if exceeded by an individual or couple trigger Metro's income tax payment. So, the tax rate would be lowered but at the same time the tax would be extended for more years into the future.
Here's KATU's reporting on Metro's move to extend its income tax farther out into the future:
In a side note, Clackamas County voters actually voted against this Metro Income Tax back in May of 2020, but Clackamas' NO vote is over-ridden by the Yes votes in Multnomah and Washington Counties.
As a volunteer for the Taxpayer Association, I think I will recommend that the Oregon Taxpayer Association oppose Metro's proposal to change its income tax by extending for several more years beyond the year 2030.
(posted by Elvis Clark on July 12, 2024)
Meanwhile Metro asks the City of Portland to do a better job at administering the Metro Income Tax
Both Metro and Multnomah County complain that the City of Portland, which they contract with to administer and collect income taxes, is not adequately documenting and informing Metro and Multnomah County concerning the number of people actually paying their local income taxes. Metro and Multnomah County are not sure that all of their Income Taxes, due them, are being fully collected by the City of Portland.
For this inter-governmental squabble, I link to Willamette Week's reporting:
Portland is already losing middle- and higher-income people to other states/regions, because of such new income taxes as Metro's homeless services income tax and Multnomah's Preschool-for-all Income tax. This according to most recent IRS tax filing data.
Milwaukie tacks on a new 3% tax onto utility bills
The proceeds from this new tax won't help you, but will fund a new City Climate Czar.
You may have gotten the above notice from PGE electric utility, about a new City of Milwaukie utility tax/fee. This new fee/tax will show up on Milwaukie electric utility bills partially in July 2024, and fully in August 2024.
Up until 5 years ago, Milwaukie didn't have a Climate Czar/Sustainability director. But because other cities have Climate Change Bureaucrats pushing paper, I guess Milwaukie City Council can't resist joining this "green fad." And so now the average electricity customer in the City of Milwaukie will pay an extra $5.41 just to pretend like the City is cooling the earth with its hiring of a Climate/Sustainability Director.
Before, this new utility tax, the City Climate/Sustainability Director (Czar) and his/her consulting contracts (some $500,000 per year in total Climate Czar city expenses) have been funded out of City General Funds. But the City needs those General Fund monies now because its costs are increasing faster than its property tax proceeds - although part of the blame rests with City Council itself for spending more than need be on some non-basic service items (For example: Does the City actually need an Equity Director - A city employee position created in only the last four years)?
So, now the City of Milwaukie adds this new utility tax onto both PGE and Northwest Natural [gas] bills. The city still has a resolution on the books to force residents to switch from natural gas home heating and cooking to being all electric. The City Climate czar - that residents will now be taxed to fund - could end up working to take away natural gas utility service from residents, leaving residents totally dependent on one energy supplier - namely, the local monopoly PGE. How's this for a double whammy.
I argued before Council when it started considering this new utility tax, that the proceeds should be spent to help Milwaukie residents. For instance, the proceeds of this new tax could instead go towards giving out cash rebates to those city residents who plant and maintain a new shade tree (helping to provide relief for people on those hot summer days).
But nope. Council wants to pretend it is cooling the temperature of the earth by simply adding a Climate Change czar.
(posted by Elvis Clark on June 26, 2024)
MIlwaukie to raise electric and natural gas utility bills
The Milwaukie City Council is set to raise your PGE bill by at least $3 per month
In the above PGE electric utility bill excerpt, you can see that Milwaukie currently imposes a 1.5% tax on electric utility bills. (In the above bill excerpt, the Milwaukie PGE electric utility tax amounts to $2.02 per month.)
Starting this July 2024, Milwaukie City Council is set to add another 3 percentage points to its tax on PGE, such that the City of Milwaukie tax on monthly electric bills seems likely to increase by at least $3 per month - higher if you heat with electricity and not natural gas.
(posted by Elvis Clark on May 1, 2024)
Milwaukie City Council is also set to increase your Northwest Natural Bill by $2 or more per month
In the above Northwest Natural [gas utility] bill excerpt, Milwaukie currently taxes natural gas utility service at a rate of 2% - or in the above bill specifically, $1.68 per month.
This Milwaukie tax on gas utility bills is likely to increase by at least $2 per month, what with Milwaukie City Council's impending decision to raise its natural gas utility service tax to 5% from 2%.
This increase in electric and natural gas utility taxes is being spent by the city of Milwaukie to hire a Climate director, costing the city over $100,000 per year in employee costs, plus another $100,000 for materials and consulting services. The Climate director is likely to work on trying to eliminate energy choice for Milwaukie residents, making residents totally dependent on a more dominant PGE electric utility monopoly.
Milwaukie utility customers are paying twice for climate bureaucrats and programs. The Public Purpose Charge (in both of the above bill excerpts) funds Oregon state's "green" energy programs, and now Milwaukie's increase in utility taxes will pay for a City climate bureaucrat.
(See 'City Gov News' and 'City Hall News' for my written comment to the Milwaukie Budget Committee opposing the use of these increased utility tax monies for hiring a Climate director.)
Milwaukie City government wants more taxes and Fees
In this month's Milwaukie Pilot newsletter, the Mayor threatens cuts in police, library and parks
Before the City of Milwaukie resorts to increased fees and/or taxes, it should consider cutting at least two of its non-basic service spending items. The first is its climate action plan spending.
It appears that the city is spending over $200, 000 per year and probably more like $500,000 per year on its futile attempt to change the temperature of the earth. I say at least $200,000 per year because the City has been employing two people to do climate action plan paperwork. I say perhaps as much as $500,000 per year based on previous City Council discussions about adding a climate fee onto City water bills. I say futile because the benefit and cost of cutting greenhouse gases is a giant black box, depending in substantive part on economic forecasts and we all know how bad economic forecasting is for accuracy. (Just as one of an infinite number of examples: Consider that most economic forecasts for the year 2023 called for a recession in the U.S. But quite the opposite happens.)
The amount that the City takes in from property taxes is nearly $10 million per year, so cutting the Climate Action Plan would help preserve perhaps as much as 5% of the City's property tax revenues for the basic services. It is vital that the City of Milwaukie ensure that it is getting tangible, highly certain benefits for its residents instead of the rather uncertain, abstract benefits of its Net Zero, climate action plan.
The second item is the City's Urban Renewal allocation, which reduces the City's property tax funds for basic services like police, library and parks. Currently, the Urban Renewal district drains $200,000 per year from the City's property tax funds for basic services. And this figure grows sharply each year and will reach nearly $1 million per year by the year 2030.
Much of the Urban Renewal spending is targeted to Downtown Milwaukie and very little to Central Milwaukie. Some of the Urban Renewal spending will go towards restoring Kellogg Lake and creating an underpass of McLoughlin Boulevard, which will help connect downtown Milwaukie to the beautiful Milwaukie Bay park area. Now that seems like an awesome real tangible benefit that most Milwaukians would applaud.
But another chunk of the Urban Renewal spending is destined to be thrown out to developers to build their new apartment complexes in downtown Milwaukie. This is something the council should look to cut by freezing some portions of the urban renewal plan and restoring these taxpayer monies to the City's basic services funds.
Going back to the City's environmental activities. There are some Climate activities which could have substantive real certain benefits. This would include helping Milwaukie residents' plant and maintain new trees, providing shade for people on those hot summer days we get here in Milwaukie. These climate activities could and maybe should be shifted to the Public Works department, which runs the City's water and storm water utility services.
Jon Stoll, former chair of Milwaukie's Budget Committee, indicated at one point when he ran for City Council in 2020, that the City's water utility could save monies by pursuing better financing of its operations. Along these lines, municipal debt tends to carry sharply lower interest rates than the interest rates the city earns on its cash reserves, at least currently and most normally (I think this is the case). Currently, the City's water utility is sitting on several millions of dollars in reserves.
If the City's water utility can save money by taking advantage of municipal financing advantages, possibly it could use such savings to set up a program which would refund the cost of a tree(s) for City water and sewer utility customers that plant and maintain a new tree(s). Another thought is to increase the City's license fee for Northwest Natural and/or PGE. In the case of Northwest Natural, increasing the percentage fee would be like imposing a greenhouse emissions tax at the City level to offset the greenhouse emissions of Northwest Natural's gas utility service. (PGE also has greenhouse emissions). Such utility license fee could go towards funding a City tree planting and maintaining rewards system.
So, there is a need for citizens to get involved and look at what parts of the City budget they value most and how much in additional taxes and fees they might support. For instance, I am really impressed by some of the City's SAFE fee spending on road improvements. For instance, 43rd Avenue between Howe and King roads. The Linwood bicycle and pedestrian pathways. Lakewood pathways. So maybe some increase in the SAFE fee (Safe Access for Everyone) would most probably yield real certain benefit.
(posted by Elvis Clark on March 3, 2023)
The City of Portland is being ate by the cost of being Woke
In the above "news' clips, the Portland Office of Equity Management (POEM) increases parking costs
At the same time that the City of Portland approves POEM's new parking fee, the Portland Business Alliance bemoans the huge loss of folks coming to down town Portland.
(so the remedy is to raise the cost of coming down town and parking in the City of Portland? Portland doesn't seem smart enough to know that taxing something usually results in less of it occurring (in this case, even less foot traffic in down town Portland)).
Portland has two new City/County income taxes, and already has fees out the wazoo on top of these new family cost burdens.
And why do these extra costs of living get enacted? Because the Climate, social justice and equity non-profits are able to skim monies via Portland and Multnomah Council approval - taking the monies from working stiffs and families.
The same Portland Business Alliance report shows that Portland families need almost $100,000 in annual income just to make ends meet, living in the City of Portland.
(posted by Elvis Clark on February 26, 2022)
Milwaukie moving to impose tree removal fees and fines
Milwaukie's Planning Commission on Tuesday (11/9) conducts hearing on private property tree removal
The following is a correspondence I get from Milwaukie's Urban Forester, Natalie Rogers:
"The Type 1 permits can be thought of as the ‘simple’ tree removal permits. These are tree removals for a variety of reasons listed in the type 1 approval criteria, including dead/dying trees, hazardous trees, significant infrastructure impacts etc. Type 1 removals do not incur additional fees – it’s just the application fee ($50) which may be waived in some circumstances. We decided to include in this approval list one healthy tree less than 18” per calendar year, meaning that property owners can remove a tree (<18”) as a type one permit with streamlined review. If they need to remove more trees, then a type 2 permit is required which is a little more work and may incur additional fees."
I believe I will want to argue, in my testimony, for waiving the removal permit fee for less than 18 inch diameter trees, on non-development private property homes; if property owner is maintaining four trees with diameters greater than 6 inches, in the case of wanting to remove one other tree with less than an 18 inch diameter.
I will post my testimony for modifying this proposed tree code on Saturday here.
(posted by Elvis Clark on November 4, 2021)
The Economic Report Funded by Metro says incorporating Oak Grove would cost its residents more in taxes, according to this week's Clackmas Review
I have yet to read the report on the benefits and costs of incorporating Oak Grove and Jennings Lodge through annexing into Milwaukie or it becoming its own City; but this is quite surprising to me the report comes right out and says higher taxes are likely.
This provides a great salvo, argument against incorporating this area.
I can tell you from my living in Milwaukie you also inevitably get a cit
The Oregon Legislature adds on another .25% to our PGE electric bills so as to increase rebates for those buying electric vehicles
While Public Utilities avoid costing their rate payers for such things as electric vehicles, we being in PGE territory will pay yet one more adder for so called good intentions - transferring a portion of our increased electricity bills to buyers of high cost electric vehicles (in the form of increased electric vehicle rebates). I am sure folks making bank off of the electric vehicle subsidy grav
Oregon Government's #1 goal: State revenues before people
Above are extracts from Oregon's Personal Income Tax Form for Year 2020 - due to tomorrow 5/17/21
I am kind of in the minority among our electorate as I see government as mostly as a self interested being, with its politicians and employees looking to improve their own financial interests first and foremost while doing enough public good not to face a rebellious electorate.
Today, my skepticism of our Oregon government is raised as I am doing my income taxes which are due tomorrow. And to my unpleasant surprise, Oregon is taxing the federal stimulus checks most all of us receive this last year and into early 2021. This occurs because Oregon is reducing you federal tax deduction by the amount of your stimulus checks. So for instance if you owe the Federal government $6,500 in federal taxes which is approximate for many middle class Oregonians, then instead of being able to deduct this amount from your Oregon Taxable Income; you must reduce your deduction for federal taxes by the $3,600 in stimulus checks you receive from the federal government in the case of couples filing joint tax returns. So, your federal tax deduction is reduced from $6,500 down to only $2,900 (couples filing jointly), in this example.
From the very beginning when Oregon's Governor decides to shut down vast swaths of the Oregon economy even though Oregon's Covid contraction rates are among the lowest nationally, I speculate with other professional economists that Oregon's strategy is actually to improve its chances of making money off the federal government by receiving increased federal Covid economic relief payments. At the time, my professional economist colleague didn't think this a likely hypothesis because he thought Oregon state government would stand to lose billions. Instead as it turns out Oregon state government coffers overflow in amounts well in excess of budgeted revenues - thanks to the federal government relief payments.
Well this is my hypothesis about the real goal of Oregon state government, and it ain't us first and foremost. Only in ferry tales.
(posted by Elvis Clark on May 16, 2021)
Clackamas May Have to file income tax with City of Portland, in care of Metro
I plan to protest before the Clackamas Board of Commissioners against having the City of Portland as surrogate administer and collect on this new Metro Income tax (on High earners) within Clackamas outside of the City limits of Portland.
(posted by Elvis Clark on March 25, 2021)