STATEMENT OF OPPOSITION – Ballot Measure 97, 2.5% Gross Receipts Tax

Southern Oregon Regional Economic Development, Inc. (SOREDI) and its Board of Directors formally opposes Ballot Measure 97, a proposed 2.5 percent gross receipts tax on corporations with total Oregon sales in excess of $25 million a year.  The proponents of Ballot Measure 97 have gained sufficient signatures to qualify the measure for the 2016 General Election ballot in Oregon.

The nonpartisan Legislative Revenue Office (LRO) has closely analyzed Ballot Measure 97 and estimated that it will generate more than $6 billion in new state tax revenues in each of the next three state budget cycles. Further, the LRO’s analysis concluded that two-thirds of the increased corporate taxes will ultimately be paid by Oregon consumers in higher prices for items Oregonians buy every day, including food, medicines, gas and electric utilities, phones and medical care.

There is no plan for how the $6 billion revenue windfall would be spent, but Ballot Measure 97’s economic effects are clear – the loss of more than 38,000 private sector jobs and higher consumer prices averaging more than $600 a year regressively burdening Oregonians least able to afford those higher costs.

The SOREDI Board of Directors, by Majority Vote, Resolves as Follows:

1. We believe that new state revenue measures are best developed, discussed, debated and enacted by the Oregon Legislative Assembly balancing the best interests of all Oregonians in every region of the state, and not ballot measures drafted by special interest groups.
2. As the region’s primary economic development advocates dedicated to increasing the long-term prosperity of Jackson and Josephine Counties, we believe that the economic consequences of Ballot Measure 97’s passage would do serious damage to the economic health of the communities we serve and their residents.
3. We oppose the passage of Ballot Measure 97.

For more information on the details of Measure 97 and the way it would affect the lives of everyday Oregonians, visit www.Defeat97.com

Approved June 14, 2016