Oregon union decline above state average

By Taxpayer Association of Oregon Foundation, Last year, union membership in Oregon dropped by 7.6 percent, registering the sixth largest drop in the country. According to new data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, from 2017 to 2018, Oregon unions lost 20,000 members. This is the eighth largest drop in the country and is…

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Will hospitals lose their property tax exemptions?

Oregon hospitals just got hit with a $320 million revenue tax last year with House Bill 2161 (also known as Measure 101). Now Oregon lawmakers are coming back to tax them again by stripping away their charitable property tax benefits. It’s been a long-standing policy that hospital and healthcare clinics that provide charity care can…

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Oregon’s uninsured problem

America’s uninsured rate held essentially steady from 2016 to 2017, according to recently released U.S. Census Bureau figures. Oregon, however, one of the few states to see a significant uptick in the uninsured rate.

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Oregon ranks high: Taxes, Spending, Red Tape

Comparing Oregon to other states helps us understand and communicate how prosperous the State of Oregon government actually is.   We also included regulations as they are a different form of taxation because government gets to achieve a goal for free but at a significant expense to a small business or a taxpayer family budget.

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Is there a PERS tax on my home?

The Wall Street Journal ran an op-ed connecting state’s pension problems with home values. While the article doesn’t mention Oregon, our PERS crisis and housing affordability problems make the article especially relevant.

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Oregon is drowning in regulations

By Taxpayer Association of Oregon Foundation, Many Oregon businesses and residents feel like state government meddles too much in their everyday lives. They also feel like all this meddling does not do much to make their day-to-day lives much better. New research shows they may be correct. Oregon has the sixth highest number of regulatory…

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We need to help crime victims

Oregon politicians broke the law in setting convicted criminals free In 2017, the Governor and the Legislature approved House Bill 3078 which reduced prison time 20% to 30% for Identity Thieves, Auto theft and Property crimes. Politicians blatantly broke the law by releasing criminals early in violation of the Oregon Constitution. Voters put minimum sentencing…

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Making a tax deductible donation and receipt

We are a 501c(3) tax exempt organization and donations are eligible for a charitable tax deduction on your taxes.  All people who make a donation will receive an official receipt within 5-10 businesses days. People who donate through GoFundMe.com can receive an official tax receipt for tax purposes by contacting us by email us at…

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88% reject tolling I-5

The Oregon Transportation Commission discussed (see Oregonian article, Portland Tribune article) the feasibility of tolling the highways of Interstate 5 and Interstate 205 with the projections of raising $300 million in additional tax revenue. The Taxpayer Association of Oregon Foundation predicting this debate conducted an extensive mail survey of its supporters last month.   Over 400…

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