Kitzhaber ghost returns with 16% business tax hike

House bill 2398: Kitzhaber ghost returns with 16% business tax
By Taxpayer Association of Oregon
Oregonwatchdog.com

The ghost of Kitzhaber has returned to the Oregon State Capitol with a bill he is chief sponsor of which would increase the cost of doing business in Oregon. House Bill 2398 increases rate of the corporate excise tax by 16%. House Bill 2398 is up for a hearing on Tuesday in the House Revenue Committee.

Kitzhaber’s taxes are a thing of Oregon legend as the ex-Governor once confessed “That he had more tax increases, proposals I ought to say, than any other governor in Oregon”.

It increases the current corporate excise tax rate of 6% to 7% for the first $1 million of taxable income. It raises the corporate excise tax rate from 7% to 8% for income above $1 million. If passed, the bill takes effect immediately for income of this year beginning January 1, 2015. This corporate excise tax increase only confirms that the 2015 Session is becoming one of the most hostile to business in Oregon modern history. You have the 2015 Legislature proposing adding costs to businesses with the $15 minimum wage, 7-day paid sick leave and now a 16% increase in business taxes.

Read more on House Bill 2398 at the State Legislature’s website here.