Former Ore. governors add support to tax measure

Three of Oregon’s four most recent governors are urging voters to approve the $3 billion corporate tax measure in November, according to a statement in the voter’s pamphlet posted online Tuesday.

Former Gov. Barbara Roberts and former Gov. Ted Kulongoski joined Gov. Kate Brown in signing a statement of support for the measure. Absent from the list of supporters was former Gov. John Kitzhaber, who resigned in February 2015 amid allegations of influence peddling. Kitzhaber had criticized Brown in June for not taking a position on the tax measure.

Under Measure 97, the state would charge certain C corporations a 2.5 percent tax on their gross annual sales in Oregon in excess of $25 million. The group behind the measure, Our Oregon, is affiliated with the state’s public employee unions. The measure calls for the state to spend the new tax money on early childhood and K-12 education, health care and senior services. Lawyers for the Legislature said lawmakers could spend most of the money as they please, with the exception of an estimated $250 million from taxes on fuel sales that must be spent on transportation under the state Constitution.

“The NO campaign wants to convince consumers that if Measure 97 passes, costs will be passed along to them,” the governors wrote. “This is just a scare tactic.”

Brown said in a recent interview with Oregon Public Broadcasting that “Oregonians are smart enough to realize” consumers will bear some of those costs.

However, in the argument in favor of the measure published in the voter’s pamphlet, the three governors pointed out that fewer than 1 percent of Oregon businesses would be subject to the tax, and the state needs the new tax money to prevent a budget shortfall next year.

“If it fails, we will face the painful dilemma of declining budgets and increased need … all across Oregon,” the governors wrote. “Right now, we have one of the shortest school years in the nation, and the third-largest class sizes. We have seen a 29% increase in the number of seniors living in poverty since 2008. More than 200,000 people struggle to get by without affordable health insurance.”