A service of the Taxpayer Association of Oregon Foundation.
Economy, Aging and Sex Leads to Declining Workforce As the Baby Boomer generation reaches retirement age, USA TODAY reports that the working population fell to its lowest level last year since women entered the workforce nearly 30 years ago. In 2010, only 45.4% of Americans had jobs. This rate is down from 49.3% in 2000.…
Capital gains tax Oregon has one of the highest capital gains taxes in the nation. There are a few bills in the 2011 Legislature that would reduce these taxes. The issue is cut capital gains taxes is shared by many sides in the State capitol. Governor Kitzhaber has proposed cutting $25 million from capital gains…
100 Ways to Balance the State Budget without new taxes! In light of Oregon facing a budget crisis, the Taxpayer Foundation has issued a master list of budget balancing ideas that do not require raising taxes. These ideas have been collected from Oregon lawmakers, think tank groups, taxpayer organizations, unions, policy analysts, Democrats, Republicans and…
Is tech a new bubble to burst? Should the Fed care? By Oregon Tax News, As technology expands, companies find themselves with increased market values. The emergence of social media (more than 500 million accounts on Facebook alone), combined with mobile phone use (4.5 billion), is dramatically changing technology. Currently, Facebook is valued at $75…
States Consider Online Gambling to Raise Revenue By Oregon Tax News As states struggle to balance their budgets, they constantly search for new ways to increase revenue and decrease their deficits. Although there is a federal ban on Internet gambling, several states, led by New Jersey, battle to legalize online gambling by initiating state laws…
Oregonians flock to Washington to avoid tax bite By Oregon Tax News, Despite the decline in home sales, Clark County attracted 22 percent more out-of-town residents in 2010 than in 2009. Real estate experts believe the absence of income tax and low home prices contributed to the influx of new residents. Clark County boasts some…
Little People Stars Sue Washington County building inspectors By Oregon Tax News Little People, Big World stars Amy and Matt Roloff decided to sue Washington County for $200,000 and legal costs after John Wheeler, a Washington County building services inspector, allegedly trespassed on their Hillsboro farm on July 16, 2010. The complaint holds that Amy…
Texas Free Market Policies Beat California’s Economic Strategy Texas managed to pull itself out of the recession with its free market policies during a time when California’s economy continues to decline. The Chief Executive magazine ranked California as the worst business climate in the nation, while Texas’ ranked the best. Experts attribute Texas’ vast natural…
Warning Signs for Renewable Energy By Oregon Tax News Signs of renewable energy storm clouds… – 86% of new Congress Freshmen oppose climate change legislation – 17 Senators signed a letter calling ethanol indefensible and unwise – Both Al Gore and Obama’s Energy Secretary Steven Chu blasted ethanol in the past few weeks – The…
Money is not the teacher problem in Portland By Richard Leonetti, By Oregon Tax News, A response to the Portland Public School’s call for a half-billion education bond and The Oregonian Editorial Board’s response. Not so fast with a property tax increase of $2.00 per thousand for Portland Schools. Portland Schools already have borrowed $470…