Thanks for sending us your rejects, California. Now we're as screwed up as you. First, we pass a double tax law designed solely for the state union retirement program that has bankrupted us that is already causing businesses to move and people to be unemployed (ABM and I had lunch last Friday at my favorite Philly Cheesesteak place and the retired owner had to lay off at least one person and come back to work due to the business tax measure- that makes over 350 layoffs I personally know of due solely to the tax measures). Now, in Sunday's Oregonian there are a couple of articles. One portrays the state putting a lot of money and time into catching & fining out of work people working as handymen since it takes work away from constructions unions (and non unions workers as well) since they are neither licensed or bonded. OK, I get that to a certain degree. Then, on the same page they talk about victims not getting restitution since the state has neither the time nor resources to go after the people who owe them the money. So let's see............ tax laws designed specifically to close businesses, create more unemployment specifically so retired union workers who have unbelievable sweetheart deals can continue, chasing down and fining unemployed people facing the loss of their homes and keep their kids, literally, fed but turning their backs on victims of crime and the restitution that is rightfully due them since it's not tied somehow to a union. And oh yeah, let's certainly not forget our tax dollars paying for thousands of abortions thru the health plan rather than things like fixing kids teeth... all the time watching property taxes go up and property values go down. Yep, one screwed up state. Oh well, my little rant for the day.
Oh man, it's a place dedicated to philly cheesdesteak sandwiches on Milwaukie Ave.. Here's the link... www.phillypdx.com
Never been there, but I drove by it the other day and almost stopped...I spent some of my youth in Philadelphia and I love a good cheese steak!
Oh, I dunno. No state should be run by a union. This one is and it's no wonder it's bankrupt and all we get taxes & lies, taxes & lies and more taxes & lies. But I feel the same way about states led by dirt dry conservatives too long. That creates its own set of problems. Oregon is becoming the Detroit of the west coast. And then I read that victims of crimes aren't getting, or going to get, restitution that is due them because all the money is spent on un ion retirements and chasing down people trying to work to keep themselves from becoming homeless and I just have to wonder how screwed up this all is.
At least our taxes are lower than most states and our business climate is better than most as well... Think about how crappy it would be to live in a state with a bad business and personal tax climate!
I wonder if that's really true. Property taxes are almost double Washington's. Higher than CA as well. My in laws in Chico have twice the SF we do and pay less than half in property taxes. Our business taxes just went up vastly- why does this improve our ability to hold businesses?
Just reporting the facts. Check them out. I researched last week because everyone everywhere believes their taxes are too high...I was surprised by how Oregon rated: Here is the research for FY 2010. (It's a long report check pages 2-3 for map and chart) http://www.taxfoundation.org/files/bp59.pdf Oregon is ranked 14th best this year in corporate tax climate. For the past 4 years they were in the top 10. The state/local tax burden is below average...9.4% vs. an average nationwide of 9.7% http://www.taxfoundation.org/taxdata/show/335.html I don't get where property taxes are twice as high in OR compared to Washington...the most recent data I could find WA and OR were ranked 21st and 22nd in property tax per $1000 of value and OREGON was lower. WA rate 9.88 : OR rate 9.49 : Nationwide rate 9.64. http://www.nahb.org/fileUpload_details.aspx?contentTypeID=3&contentID=76984&subContentID=105281 *The property tax stuff is about 4 years old so a little dated...but the growth rate of property taxes in OR is capped so it's not like it radically increased in that time.
And to address your specific issues... SF is not the important item here...it's the taxable value of the property. Oregon limits how much that value can go up annually, but without knowing taxable values the anecdote doesn't help to understand tax rates. California's property taxes are one of the lowest in the whole nation (45th)...but this works for them because their median home value is double the median home value in Oregon/WA...so they get the same number of dollars per home... Business taxes DID just go up, I guess I just wouldn't call it "vastly"...
Since Oregon doesn't have a sales tax like most states I would expect our property taxes to be higher.
I guess I don't get it. Washington has, depending on the county, an 8.8% sales tax, 50% lower property tax and they are doing OK. And that's after driving a lot of business away like Oregon is doing now. Oregon has an income tax that seems to do OK, and twice the property tax of Washington- and yet we're broke. There's no way a sales tax in Oregon to replace the income tax, and lowering property taxes 50% is going to bring in more revenue. No freaking way. So why is Oregon is such sad shape? I mean, what else can it be but pers?
I hate to say it, but Oregon needs to wean itself off of its current taxing structure. We need a sales tax. Yeah, it sucks to have to pay your taxes every time you buy something, but the curve is smoother. If you look at tax revenues from states with sales taxes and tax revenues for states without them (relying on property or income tax), you'll see the curve is smoother. What hurts government is what hurts the private sector--predictability. Consumption has a lower beta than income or property values. If you can't predict what the landscape is going to be, then you can't plan.
Except Washington and Oregon have almost exactly the same property tax rate...California is where the rate is 50%. Unless the numbers I found are wrong... So if we have the same property and income tax rates as Washington, but no sales tax, I'd expect Oregon brings in a lot less than Washington...but that depends on total Real property values and incomes, too...damn complicating... I definitely think PERS is a racket, at least as it was when I knew any of the funding details. It's my understanding that Kulongoski was able to push through some reform but I have no idea what real financial impact that had...so ...maybe? I agree greater predictability is definitely needed. I'm not sure it's a sales tax, though. For one it's political suicide and the other more subjective reason is that it's a regressive tax...it hits poor people more than it hits the rich making the effective tax percentage higher for those that make the least. The reason is that the poor need to spend all their income to survive so all their income gets hit by the sales tax. The rich save/invest a portion of their income so it doesn't get taxed. Ignoring that, though, it makes governmental budgeting super difficult when revenue swings wildly upward in a strong economy and wildly downward in a slow economy...
