No New Taxes on Sales – Measure 118 Fails

79% of VOTERS Said NO

According to the Bend Bulletin, Lynne Terry reported that this measure “was the most controversial on the ballot and united an unusual coalition of political opponents and executives against it, including Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek, about 50 lawmakers from both parties, labor unions and more than 200 companies and business groups.”

“The size and diversity of our coalition show just how flawed Measure 118 was,” said Angela Wilhelms, chair of the campaign opposing Measure 118 and president and CEO of Oregon Business & Industry. “But defeating even flawed ballot measures requires a huge amount of work and financial support. The many businesses and organizations that helped spread the message deserve a great deal of credit. So do the elected leaders who joined our coalition early.”

Measure 118 proposed a 3% gross sales tax on Oregon businesses earning $25M+ in sales per year. The revenues from this tax would be distributed to Oregon taxpayers.

Jefferson Public Radio, a service of Southern Oregon University, reported that the hopes of some proponents of Measure 118 were to standardize basic income, giving all Oregonians a guaranteed amount of income per year, regardless of need.

Supporters include the Oregon Progressive Party, the Pacific Green Party, Teamsters Local 206 and a few other groups, Josh Jones, a Los Angeles investor; the family and foundation of the late Gerald Huff, a California software engineer; and Dylan Hirsch-Shell, a former Tesla engineer and current candidate for mayor of San Francisco, who donated $100,000 to the campaign.

As noted by JPR, proponents of Measure 118 received the majority of their funding from out of state. A handful of wealthy California residents who support the idea of basic income spent more than $1 million trying to get the measure passed in Oregon, resulting in accusations by opponents that the state was being treated as a guinea pig.

SOREDI’s stand against Measure 118 has been noted in previous newsletters and on social media. We are pleased that this measure did not pass and that Southern Oregon business can continue moving forward without this threat of raising prices, adjusting margins or losing staff.