PORTLAND — The state Senate plans to address concerns Google has with a bill that was intended to entice Google Fiber to Portland.
The Oregon House of Representatives approved the legislation last week despite a warning from Google that doing so would make it “extremely unlikely” the company would bring hyper-fast Internet service to the Portland area.
The bill tried to address a provision in Oregon tax law that values property owned by telecommunications companies and other tech businesses, in part, on “intangible” assets such as the value of the companies’ brands.
Oregon lawmakers sought to ease the effect of the tax, but Google says lawmakers did it wrong.
Sen. Mark Hass chairs the Senate Committee on Finance and Revenue. He tells The Oregonian that the fixes sought by Google are easy, and the Senate will make them.
