Tax TV ads aim at gut and wallet, not head

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Voters about to decide whether corporations and wealthy Oregonians need to pump more cold, hard cash into state coffers are being bombarded with warm and fuzzy emotional appeals in TV ads by campaigns for both sides.

Supporters of Measures 66 and 67 say they are sticking close to the facts on how the $727 million tax package works while opponents argue those facts do not show the potential effects of the increases on the economy.

As the final week approaches before the Jan. 26 referendum election, both sides are working hard to portray each other as the villains. They accuse each other of misleading voters trying to decide between arguments asking them to approve annual taxes to maintain basic public services such as schools and police - or rejecting the package to boost job creation by companies and investors.

But the campaigns agree the television ads attempt to make complicated economic issues into a simple morality play in order to drive home their messages - a choice that campaign officials say is dictated by the limits of 30-second TV spots.

The difference, says a chief spokesmen for the tax supporters, is that opponents are getting carried away with the emotions and leaving the facts behind.

"Maybe you cannot have a complicated tax conversation in 30 seconds," said Scott Moore of the Vote Yes for Oregon campaign. "But you cannot make stuff up. And that's what they've done in every single ad - they've simply made stuff up," Moore said of the tax opponents.

In one recent ad by opponents, the owner of a small bakery apologizes to two workers who have lost their jobs and they all blame it on tax increases on corporations.

But Moore said a bakery of that kind would likely face only a $150 minimum corporate tax if Measure 67 was approved- certainly not the 40 percent increase implied by the ad.

The current corporate minimum tax of $10 could increase to $100,000 for some companies. But Measure 67 applies that only to companies with more than $100 million in sales - and the state says 77 of the 104 big corporations that would be affected are based out of state.

Another ad by opponents features a smarmy government clerk telling a taxpayer who looks like an average soccer mom that Measure 66 will boost her personal taxes when it only applies to households with more than $250,000 in income - or $125,000 for single filers - far above the average personal income in Oregon.

In fact, the Legislative Revenue Office estimates that only about 2.5 percent of all Oregon tax filers would see an increase in their taxes, or about 38,000 out of 1.5 million filers.

Pat McCormick, spokesman for the no campaign led by Oregonians Against Job-Killing Taxes, said the ads are meant to illustrate the broad effects of the proposed tax increases and not particular individuals or businesses.

"Our concern has been the long-term negative effect," McCormick said. "And these measures are directed at the very people Oregon has to rely on to get back to economic health."

Two TV ads by supporters of the tax measures single out banks and credit card companies as corporate fat cats, trying to capitalize on anger against Wall Street and billions in taxpayer bailouts. The ads fail to mention other companies that will be affected by Measure 67, such as grocers and construction firms operating on thin margins.

But the theme repeated in all the ads is that Oregonians are victims - either of greedy corporations or state government that is out of control.

"This is not a Socratic debate," said Tim Gleason, dean of the University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication. "The effort here on both sides is to drive people to one side or another, and you're going to do that by creating bad guys, not by explaining the complexity of tax policy."

Ryan Deckert, president of the Oregon Business Association, which has stayed neutral in the debate, said the "big business is bad, unions are evil" negative campaigning "has opened a new wound" that will not be easily healed after the election.

"It's not going to be clear and decisive, so there will be no mandate either way," Deckert said. "We've got some real issues to grapple with."

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press.