Oregon Tax News

 Oregonians Face Scores of New Taxes
By Oregon Tax News

– Often overlooked, smaller tax increases will be facing thousands of Oregon homeowners, in addition to possible new taxes in Multnomah County, Hood River and Ashland. 

Recent local proposals include an extension of the Ashland meals tax, along with increased driver registration fees and higher property taxes in Multnomah County.   Some local cities, like Hood River, will be wrestling with a local gas tax increase. These smaller taxes have lost attention in light of the much larger $733 million Oregon tax referendum measures approaching the January ballot. Read more…

Oregon Faces Paycheck Decline
By Oregon Tax News

Oregon is near bottom in wage growth and it could get worse. According the United States Census Bureau, Oregon is currently ranked eighth in lowest pay check growth across the country.

The rise of unemployment in Oregon gives employers the opportunity to take advantage of the abundance of labor and lower wages.  Goldman Sachs’s chief United States economist, Jan Hatzius, predicts that average hourly earnings will fall about half a percent from the fourth quarter of 2009 through the fourth quarter of 2010.  Hatzius says his prediction accounts for workers’ strong aversion to wage cuts.  Without that adjustment, the projection would be negative two percent.
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