City council to consider changing Portland arts tax
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PORTLAND, Ore. — The Portland City Council will discuss an emergency ordinance next week to correct what Mayor Charlie Hales says is a flaw in the new, voter-approved arts tax.
As written, every Portland adult must pay the $35 annual arts tax if they have an income and live in a household above the poverty line.
According to Hales' office, that means an 18-year-old who made $10 dog-sitting last year would have to come up with another $25 to pay the tax.
"No one crafting this tax intended this to be the rule," Hales said in a news release Monday. "This is just silly. And we need to move right now to address the law of unintended consequences."
The council will consider changing the rule to create an income threshold of $1,000. Those who have already paid and make less than $1,000 will get a refund. The city is still working out how to pay it, the news release said.
Money generated by the tax will be used to keep art teachers in elementary schools and provide grants for local art institutions.
Payment forms will be mailed April 1, but if you pay online before then, the city won't have to send one.
The council will address an emergency ordinance at its March 27 meeting.
Meanwhile, Jack Bogdanski, the man behind Jack Bog's Blog, has filed a lawsuit challenging whether the tax is even constitutional. He is asking the Oregon Tax Court to declare the arts tax an unconstitutional head tax.
Bogdanski declined to speak to KATU News on Monday, saying he doesn’t want to argue his constitutionality case in the media.
this reminds me of that multonomah county tax all over again but cheaper. I don't think there should be an additional tax on someone because they work for a living. The state takes enough out of my pay checks alone.
Never ceases to amaze me how foolish people can be! Before putting this on the ballot no one could see how this would hurt those low/fixed income residents that really can't afford to pay this ridiculous tax. $35 a household is too much let alone $35 per person for those 18 and over is crazy. Obviously all the city wants is your money and they don't care how they get it.. or who it hurts. Likely to be just the beginning for taxes like this, hang on to your wallets...
I have no problem paying the extra $35, no problem at all. The problem I have is the behind-closed-doors corrupt greed which consumes the tax and redirects the funds to pay for other shortfalls/failed promises.Â
So you probably should have a problem with paying the tax then.
How about a schoolteacher tax? Since all the money ends up in their pockets anyway, tax them on their privileged status in life. If they bellyache we can tell them "It's for the children!"
Portland and the media can't even get there stories straight.
According to Hales' office, that means an 18-year-old who made $10 dog-sitting last year would have to come up with another $25 to pay the tax.
So I guess that means in Portland $10 would be above the poverty level.Â
On November 6, 2012, Portland voters passed the Arts Education and Access Income Tax (Arts Tax). This new income tax will fund Portland school teachers and art focused non-profit organizations in Portland.
Each Portland resident, age 18 and older, must file. Your tax is $35 unless:
You did not have any income; OR
Your household is at or below the federal poverty level
You did not have any income - he earned $10
Your household is at or below the federal poverty level - maybe he is living with his parents and his house doesn't qualify.
I hope the people of portland have the courage not to pay this terrible tax.
Geeze, I can't believe all this whining about this. Didn't you guys all vote on this tax?
guess i won't be donating as much to charity this year.
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@Molly Head @Phuzz you must be bored. get back to work looser!
@Molly Head. Nice set of "rebuilt air bags," you buy those with your excess PERS largess, or from your "inherited wealth?"
Stop wasting the PERS on your computer. It makes me sick.
KATU: what is the city prepared to do to those people who flat out refuse to pay the tax.. on principal?
Portland Schools have already cut teaching days by having "unpaid furlow days" by staff just to try to save afew bucks on utility's and salary's. so right now students are loosing out on the basics let alone the "arts".Â
they citys plan of giving the same "school administrators" that run the current budgets (into the ground) a lump sum of art money to do with what they want (as long as its "art" related) is a bad plan.
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Surely 'It's "Losing" Looser' would be better?
Adding to Sammie's legacy. Sammie was more concerned about the city paying the health insurance premiums for sex reassignment surgery for city employees than dealing with the details of his new tax. Like so many things the city does, it is all about show. Somebody in management or the legal counsel should have caught this glaring oversight but then that would mean they were qualified, capable, and diligent in their work. That does not describe the typical government employee.
I'm all for the arts tax. No art existed before the invention of the public school system, so if we quit funding it in the public schools it will vanish from the world forever.Â
@moej No art existed before the invention of the public school system? Apparently you know little or nothing of art, history, or education.
@I812@moejApparently you know little or nothing of sarcasm.
Many of the strange posts are from you I812.
@moej @I812 There are so many strange posts on here it is hard to decipher who is being sarcastic from those that simply are ignorant.Â
see liberals again want to spend other peoples money,pretty sure they could stop donating money to idiot-liberal Presidents,Governers,Mayors and pay this themselves
Could you specifically reference Obama here please.
@Oregon7812Â every lib is a moron take your pick
it deserved repeating
sue me
Another reason for moving out of Portland. The people just keep giving it away [by vote]. Â
Portland needs another I-Tax for the county to replace money that goes missing [apologies, budget shortfall] and mysteriously reappears after the vote. Portland completely overlooked that bright shining lie and continues to vote more taxes in.Â
Portland, the new Chicago, future Detroit with aspirations of becoming New York.
Lemmings.
@Quaoptician Unfortunately, Quaoptician, those of us who did NOT vote for the tax get punished for the "tax and spend" mentality.
@Quaoptician But we're already a low-rent, poor man's San Francisco.
"According to Hales' office, that means an 18-year-old who made $10 dog-sitting last year would have to come up with another $25 to pay the tax."
I think a kid at 18 is about the right age to learn the government will screw you at ever turn!
I've said this before and I will say it again...
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!  HA.
Go ahead and keep voting for your beloved uber-left wing politicians. An you are all surprised about this why? LOL.
@Mr. Carbon Footprint Pure Poetry
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@feral England's been a 3rd world country for years, they just can't admit it. Portland isn't far behind.
@feral. If you support the EU and its policies, then you should vote with your feet and move over there. Too many kooks in Portland in particular, and Oregon in general.....Europe could use a few more like you......
You're welcome feral, due to some of your questionable contributions to this thread, and other portlandia topics, I fear that you have spent too much time in the sun somewhere. I would encourage you and other liberals to attend a local "recovering liberals" group to free yourself of self-induced liberal brainwashing. They hold numerous meetings in the surrounding suburbs where common sense prevails. Don't be discouraged or lose hope, there is help available for you and other well-meaning, but misguided individuals.Â
@Biker1085Â You just don't understand Feral.
@feral You're at least 200 years late on your assertion that the "sun never sets on the British Empire." The sun began to set big time on it by 1812, if not before. Always willing to help with a little history lesson for my less well-informed liberal friends on here. You're welcome for my concern:-)
April Fools you got a dumb bill.
This entire episode is just left over detritus from the Sam Adams fiasco..........was originally sold as an "income tax." Then some of the actual tax payers pointed out that there was no "progression" in it, so it wasn't technically an income tax. It began to smell more and more of a "poll tax" due to the fact that it was levied on people 18 and over taken from the voter registration roster....ooooooppppsss, says the befuddled bureaucrats.....now what do we do......hence all the scrambling around to get the politically correct spin on it for the masses.  Remember the "i" tax a few years ago. Most any business or individual using a little accounting creativity was able to mitigate most if not all of the effects from that one if they chose too. Were does all this nonsense end? Pretty soon, every interest group will be lining up to ding the city taxpayers. If all of you naive dewy-eyed liberals think the arts or any other special interest group are underserved, cut a check out of your funds and forward it to the bureaucracy of your choice.
 creativity was abe to mitigate  most if not all of
Sorry I live in unincorporated WA county.
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@August100Â Thy says don't pay.
Stupid fArts Tax.
Download their form and replace Arts with Farts before sending it in.
Stupid fArts tax.
@MikeyÂ
I'm not down loading anything. They are going to have to pay to mail out the form to me.
@Mikey Write your check out to the City of East Berlin.
 Another reason why I live in the suburbs.  City dwellers get taxed up the wazooo.  "It a lifestyle" is I hear most from people that still live in the city.  If I want "lifestyle"  I jump in my car and travel for 9 minutes into PDX. Â
@trololol Gitterdone Skeeter, Gitterdone;-)
@trololol  Â
There's no lifestyle downtown.Â
The only difference between downtown and the suburbs is how much bum drool is all over the sidewalks.
So, as I understand this, all of those downtown panhandlers who are pulling in $50 per day are legally required to pay the $35 art tax. Â It's time to pay up, people!
@UtterReality  $50? It is much more than that! A 2008 police survey in Coos Bay found panhandlers can make $300 per day. Imagine what they can do in Portland!