Governor Still Won’t Say Where She Stands on Proposed Tax Increase but Will Say How She’d Spend the $3 Billion…

Wednesday, June 15, 2016

Gov. Kate Brown is playing coy on Initiative Petition 28, the proposed corporate tax increase that will raise $3 billion a year in new tax revenue.

Brown, a Democrat, has been close to the public employee unions backing the measure for her 25-year political career—but she has repeatedly declined to take a position on the measure…

Today, Brown issued a page-and-a-half “Corporate Tax Implementation Plan” for the measure, suggesting ways the revenue could be spent…

Here’s the spending part:

The plan endows a new Career Pathway Fund that supports significant expansion of career and technical education…
Increase the number of students who complete high school with an industry credential…

Expands the Earned Income Tax Credit.

Expands energy assistance programs for low-income consumers

And here’s Brown’s attempt to make the measure less painful for Oregon employers:

Allows businesses subject to IP-28 to subtract a portion of Oregon payroll costs from their annual corporate tax obligation.

Offers investment incentives through the Oregon Growth Fund that benefit Oregon businesses.

Brown also proposed a carve-out for software companies that are located in Oregon but have extensive sales in other states…

We Respond & Your Comments

Why hasn’t Guv Kate endorsed IP-28? Because today it’s positioned as a tax. But Kate’s spending plan is the first step in repositioning it as help for “the kids” and “the poor.” So anyone opposing the tax is anti kids and anti poor. Kate, compassionate Liberal that she is, will then jump on the 28 bandwagon.

Once IP-28 passes Kate’ll start choosing winners. They’ll inevitably be those who support…Kate and her Dems. Willamette Week (above) says she wants a carveout for software companies. This isn’t in Kate’s current spending plan, but don’t be surprised if it pops up. Then other companies will start giving money to slop up at the “Carveout Trough.”

And there’ll be “investment incentives through the Oregon Growth Fund.” Translated: Pro Katers will get IP-28 relief for dumping your bucks into the State fund that picks more winners (read “contributors”) to lard your bucks onto.

Liberals are always compassionate. They’re always for kids and poor folk. Because there just ain’t no end to the good you can do with somebody else’s money.

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