Oregon Tax News

Oregon #9 in Foreclosures but #37 in Home Insurance Costs
By Oregon Tax News,

Oregon ranked as one of the top 10 states with the highest foreclosure rate in the nation according to a recent survey.  Earlier this year, RealtyTrac, the leading online marketplace for foreclosure properties, released its January 2010 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report listing 315,716 default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions on U.S. properties during the month of January alone.  Despite the daunting number, this is actually a decrease of nearly 10 percent from December 2009, but 15 percent above the level reported in January 2009. The report also shows one in every 409 U.S. housing units received a foreclosure filing in January. Read more…

States Consider Holding Tax Returns to Save Money
By Oregon Tax News

USA Today reported that California, Hawaii, Alabama, North Carolina, Kansas, Idaho and New York are considering delaying issuing refunds because the states did not have the cash on hand to cover the costs.  The delays come as states continue to face deep budget holes.  While some economists say the say the nation as a whole is recovering, a recent report conducted by the National Governors Association said state fiscal conditions continue to worsen, and that state revenues will likely lag one to three years behind a national recovery from recession.

California delayed tax refunds and issued billions of dollars in IOUs to vendors and others who the state owed money because of its massive budget shortfall that exceeded $20 billion last year. Read more…