Oregon corporations could get automatic tax rebate
SALEM, Ore. (AP) — As Oregon lawmakers talk about raising more tax revenue from individuals, there's a chance corporations may get millions in automatic tax rebates.
State tax collections are flirting with the threshold that would trigger millions of dollars in rebates to corporations under a tax unique to Oregon known as the "kicker."
Voters decided in November that corporate kicker rebates should go to schools instead, but that doesn't take effect until the next budget cycle. If corporate tax collections exceed projections by at least 2 percent once the two-year budget period ends June 30, the entire surplus would be returned to corporations.
The risk comes as majority Democrats push to limit tax credits and deductions to raise an additional $275 million from individual taxpayers over the next two years.
The latest projection by economists, released last month, estimated that corporate tax collections would be less than $14 million short of the $896 million threshold that would trigger a corporate kicker. State Economist Mark McMullen said at the time that there's about a 50-50 chance of crossing that line, and Legislative Revenue Officer Paul Warner said Wednesday that McMullen's assessment still stands.
Businesses have two quarterly tax payments due before the end of the biennium, in April and June.
The House Revenue Committee is scheduled to consider a bill Thursday that would spell out how to implement the ballot measure.
Some lawmakers have discussed extending the 2012 ballot measure so it applies to the current budget cycle — a move that would require support from a supermajority of the House and Senate.
"The voters have spoken, and I think it's very clear what the voters' intent is," said Sen. Ginny Burdick, a Portland Democrat who leads the Senate Finance and Revenue Committee.
There's a wider gap to trigger the personal kicker, which is triggered when tax revenue from all sources other than the corporate income tax — primarily the personal income tax — exceeds projections by at least 2 percent. The February forecast projected that those forms of revenue would be $177 million short of the threshold.
Ryan Deckert, president of the Oregon Business Association, said his organization hasn't taken a position on what the state should do if the kicker is triggered. The business group scheduled its next board meeting in Salem after the May revenue forecast so that board members could take a position on the kicker and other big budget-related issues, Deckert said.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.
Money taken, against the will of the taxpayer, in excess of the proper tax amount does not belong to the government! It never did! Perhaps rather than spending money to return the amount overtaxed, the state should adjust their tax tables to the correct amounts. If the state of Oregon is allowed to keep the monies over taxed, all that they have to do to get a tax increase is to raise the tax withholding collected during the year.
Not only should the over tax be returned to the taxpayers, but a penalty should be payed by the state for over taxing in the first place. We as tax payers must pay a penalty if we are late paying our taxes as well as interest. It would only be fair if the state had to pay interest and penalties for over taxing us.
Corpratocracy rules and we shoulder the weight? There is a movement to repeal this inequity, ask your congressman.
The money belongs to the co-operations! It is Oregon law! The money does not belong to the state! The state charges enough with legitimate taxes and all of the additional user's fees! Stop attempting to steal money that does not belong to you!
Between reneging on contracts and trying to steal money that does not belong to the state, all veracity of the state of Oregon has been totally lost. It boils down to the reality that all politicians are thieves. Some are just worse than others.
So if the state makes a budget  based on the state economists best guess, and then  more $$$$ comes into the states coffers  than expected..... why shouldn't the money be returned to those who coughed up the money??Â
If the state wants to do away with the "kicker"..... do away with  the income tax and  go to a sales tax.Â
@kramr
Sales taxes sometimes get "overpaid" too and those states just keep the money.Â
Oregon used to give the money that was not expected back to everyone. But "schools" needed it so we gave it up for individuals. Then we gave it up for corporations.Â
Oh and no sales tax, that's about as regressive as removing women's franchise.Â
I'd rather see the money go to corporations.   At least they are producing jobs.  The public schools which are nothing more than a money pit  are failures and will never recover until the corrupt teacher's unions are put of business.  Until then, our corporations will  continue to import employees from other countries in order to get qualified workers.  Because of the abysmal job our schools are doing, we should start outsourcing our education, since it's a fact that most other countries do a better job in schooling than we do.
Oregon voters are idiots. You could give schools all the money in the world and they'd come up short every single time.
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@Bill Melaytur please tell me how giving a corporation more money in the form of taxes is going to do anything at all for demand on their products (the driving force behind job creation)?
They lost me at Ginny Burdick. She has no credibility to me.
@Playanekes Good thing no one asked you or who that person was.
Same to you, yeah?
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