SALEM, Ore. — Unexpectedly high tax rebates took a bite out of state revenue this year, eliminating the possibility for “kicker” tax rebates, economists said Wednesday, but the $40 million downtick in projected income won’t require any immediate changes to the budget.
Economists warned earlier this year that an influx of corporate income tax payments created a strong possibility for business kicker rebates, but the influx was offset by rebates in late May and June.
Under a tax law unique to Oregon, kicker rebates are triggered when collections over a two-year budget cycle exceed projections by at least 2 percent. For the budget period that ended June 30, corporate revenue was $28 million shy of the trigger and personal income-tax revenue was $107 million short.
The higher-than-expected rebates caused economists to downgrade their general fund revenue projections for the current budget cycle by $40 million. Lottery revenue projections were up about $3 million.