Corporate tax (CAT) causing long lines at pharmacies

By Taxpayers Association of Oregon
OregonWatchdog.com

From Eugene Weekly, “Have you tried to get a prescription filled at Walgreens since Bi-Mart closed its pharmacies and sold that business to Walgreens? At least in our area of Springfield, it’s a virtual impossibility unless you have an hour or often more to wait in line. The Walgreens branches here are understaffed and overwhelmed. Do you ever wonder why Bi-Mart closed its pharmacy business? The company management cited three reasons, increasing medical costs and reimbursement problems among them.But special ire was reserved for Oregon’s Corporate Activity Tax (CAT), passed by the Democrat-controlled Oregon Legislature as House Bill 3427 and signed by Gov. Kate Brown in the 2019 session. The Oregon State Pharmacy Association (OSPA) stated, “The Oregon CAT threw fuel on the fire. Worse is that wholesalers have passed on their share of the tax so pharmacies have to pay double the tax!”

Bi-mart put out a full-page ad during the pandemic decrying the Corporate Activities tax as one of the major reasons it was closings its pharmacies.

This isn’t the only long lines for Oregonians.   For most of the pandemic DMV was closed to the public.   When DMV opened it shut down many offices this summer due to labor shortage.

For more on the CAT Tax read — Oregon Tax CAT shoots the wounded

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Photo: file photo