Williams is a life-long taxpayer advocate who has archived the state’s largest collection of government waste. Jason heads both the Taxpayer Association of Oregon Foundation and its sister organization, Taxpayer Association of Oregon.

Bill helps turn hotels into homeless shelters

By Taxpayers Foundation of Oregon Oregon’s state senators in a 19-8 vote approved a bill to make it easier to convert hotels and motels into temporary shelters and affordable long-term housing for people who lost their homes in wildfires or other emergencies. The measure, already approved by the House, will go Gov. Kate Brown for…

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Has Oregon reached peak pot as sales decline?

By Taxpayer Association of Oregon, When the pandemic began, cannabis sales soared, but sales drops in the second half of 2020 prompted Oregon state economists for the first time in three years to reduce how much they think cannabis sales taxes will generate. The economic forecast predicts the 17 percent cannabis tax will add $301.6…

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Oregon seniors, vulnerable may witness months delay

By Taxpayer Foundation of Oregon, It’s likely to take weeks—or more likely months—for Oregonians eligible to receive a coronavirus vaccine to actually receive a shot in the arm. That’s because the demand for the vaccine far exceeds the limited supplies, according to the association representing Oregon hospitals. Gov. Kate Brown outlined an ambitious timeline for…

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State of Oregon Taxes in 2020

  OREGONIANS APPROVED OVER 70 TAXES IN 2020 — Voters approved 29 local taxes (property, hotel, bonds, renewals, etc.) during the May Election, and 50 more during the November Election.  The most common type of tax increase was taxes related to property.  Some of the largest tax increases were the $1.2 billion Portland School Bond…

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Article archive on the historic Portland Riots

Best of our Portland Protest riots original reporting:     ‘END AMERICA’ AND OTHER OBSCENITIES FROM THE PORTLAND RIOT     PORTLAND PROTEST: U.S. CONSTITUTION IS A FASCIST DOCUMENT?     PORTLAND PROTEST: PEACEFUL…WITH A DASH OF DEATH THREATS     TOP 10 WORST PORTLAND PROTEST CHANTS     MAP: HOW POLICE WON THE 100TH…

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Oregon’s hospitalization rate

    The Wall Street Journal featured data from the COVID Tracking Report.  In this report Oregon is in the best 10 hospitalization states as measured by hospitalizations per one million residents.   At the same The Oregonian reports that new hospitalizations are rising to a new high which have created the calls for a strict…

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Pot sales create $300M budget boom

Tax revenue from sales of cannabis in Oregon is forecast at $300 million or more for the 2019-2021 biennium, according to the Portland Business Journal, and now the Legislature will be grappling with how to divvy up the bounty. The state brought in $46.9 million in cannabis taxes during the first quarter of the 2021…

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Oregon: $1.4 billion paid in unemployment

By Taxpayer Foundation of Oregon, The state of Oregon has paid $4.1 billion in unemployment claims since the COVID-19 pandemic began, but the acting director of the Oregon Employment Department faced criticism for delays in issuing payments to claimants, according to a KPTV report. Since the novel coronavirus shut down businesses, government agencies and nonprofits…

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Over 60 local taxes on the November Ballot

Here is the list Measure 108 – Tobacco, cigar, vaping tax Metro #26-218 business tax traffic, safety, transportation programs Multnomah #26-211 bonds, libraries Multnomah #26-213 five-year levy, restore recreation programs, parks, nature, water Multnomah #26-214 income tax, tuition-free preschool program Multnomah #26-215 bonds modernize & repair schools Multnomah #26-216 five-year local option tax, district operations…

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