Bill taxes PPP emergency small business loans

By Taxpayers Association of Oregon
OregonWatchdog.com

The Oregon House Revenue Committee has scheduled a Monday May 10th hearing on HB 2457 (-1 Amendments) which by early estimates would make Federal emergency pandemic PPP loans to small business a taxable event.

Remember, the PPP loans were given because last Spring 2020 government mandated a shutdown of small business activity.  To save small businesses from collapse the government offered emergency loans to compensate them for from the government destroying their customers.  Now, it appears that Oregon politicians want to tax those loans as a sneaky way to raise funds — despite receiving over $5 billion in COVID relief funds from Congress since.

We await the hearing to learn the finer details and full legal ramifications of HB 2457 (-1 Amendment).

— Bill Update @ 1:30pm, 5/10/21, word inside at the Capitol indicate that certain lawmakers have promised not to advance the bill with any amendments dealing with PPP loans taxation (despite previous support).  This decision will play out at 3:15 today at the hearing with no guarantees that taxes could be raised.  Lawmakers are stating that the hearing is only about making harmless technical fixes to Oregon’s taxation law and its reconnecting to Federal income tax law.  If this sounds technical, welcome to Oregon lawmaking 101.