By BESS WILLS
CEO, Gresham Ford
As elections approach, Oregon voters deserve an accounting of what it costs to live, work, and run a business. Asking businesses to “pay more” sounds simple, but taxes that aren’t based on profit—including Oregon’s Corporate Activity Tax—are built into prices, leaving consumers to pay the bill. In Multnomah County, taxes and fees accumulate before a business earns a dollar.
The list includes federal income, payroll (FICA, Social Security and Medicare), capital-gains, corporate-income, self-employment, Additional Medicare, net-investment-income, excise, tobacco-and-alcohol “sin,” estate-and-gift, lottery-and-gambling, firearms-and-alcohol (TTB), airline-and-transportation and bank-and-financial-institution taxes, plus tariffs.
Oregonians also face state income, property, corporate-income, Corporate Activity (CAT), privilege, tobacco, alcohol and cannabis, vehicle-and-use, registration, title, commercial weight-mile, estate and lodging taxes. In the Portland area, add Metro’s Supportive Housing Services tax, Multnomah County’s Preschool for All tax, the Portland Arts Tax, local business and license taxes, unemployment insurance, Paid Leave Oregon, TriMet payroll taxes, utility and franchise charges on power, water, phones and internet, and environmental fees for bottles, mattresses and tire disposal.
Then come levies, bonds, permits and user fees—including Oregon’s Waterway Access Permit for many nonmotorized boats (canoe).
Oregon has no sales tax, but that does not make it a low-tax state. The issue is the burden: layer upon layer, imposed regardless of profitability and ultimately reflected in prices, wages, investment and opportunity. Before approving another tax or fee, voters should ask: What are we already paying, what results are we getting, and when is enough enough? ￭
Bess Wills is the CEO of Gresham Ford.