Polls show Measure 79 not resonating with voters
PORTLAND, Ore. - Homeowners in Oregon are hearing a lot about real estate transfer taxes.
State law already prevents such a tax but Measure 79 would amend the Oregon Constitution to permanently prohibit transfer taxes.
Poll results show Measure 79 may not be resonating with voters.
You may have seen the TV ads with the bull’s-eyes on top of houses or the guy wrestling a cartoon house. They're clever enough to get your attention but two polls demonstrate that the ads aren't doing enough to move voters.
The first poll was taken in August. It came from the progressive group Defend Oregon, which opposes Measure 79.
The group paid its political consultant to survey 300 likely voters in August and found 57 percent opposed Measure 79.
Since then realtors have continued spending millions trying to get Measure 79 passed.
But a new poll taken last weekend for Defend Oregon shows 54 percent of likely voters are still unconvinced about Measure 79. Defend Oregon argues the measure is failing in spite of a deceptive ad campaign by supporters.
"It's really unnecessary," said Multnomah County Commissioner Deborah Kafoury. "There's already a law prohibiting this tax. There's no tax that's being out there right now. No home is being threatened. That this is really just an attempt on behalf of the realtors to put something into the (state) Constitution that doesn’t belong there.”
“The reality is state law can be changed at the drop of a hat,” said Jon Coney, spokesman for the “Yes on Measure 79” campaign. “There have been so many efforts to date by many interest groups, the city of Portland for instance, to remove the existing preemption against real estate transfer taxes, and the state Legislature could enact a statewide one at anytime.”
Measure 79 supporters believe the campaign will tighten by Election Day. But these poll numbers suggest the measure has little chance of passing this year.
âThe reality is state law can be changed at the drop of a hat,â said Jon Coney, spokesman for the âYes on Measure 79â campaign
And an additional reality is that the Oregon constitution could be changed just as easily. So adding a provision to it means little more than a law added to the books.
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I don't see a transfer tax coming. Any politician proposing it would last the remainder of their term (possibly less). An amendment is only slightly written in stone more than a state law. Nothing in Oregon is immutable.
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So this is redundancy. People who want to eliminate extraneous laws should not want this added. People who don't want bigger government should not want this added.
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The only people who want to pass the law are people who profit from the real estate industry who want their name on something in the constitution.
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It's all about pride.
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Obviously, Measure 79 is necessary. It's a solution to the very real problem of those greedy hypocrites who â typically â first check to see that a tax won't adversely affect them, before advocating for it. Anybody saying that it would be only $200 is scamming us. The only people objecting to it are the same people who have intentions of imposing such a levy. They're exactly the same people who foisted on us Measures 66 & 67, which have had a devastating effect on Oregon's economy. Those two measures were fraudulently promoted as funding for education, whereas the money actually was channeled into the General Fund. Measure 79 is a protection; similarly, the only people who don't like the Bill of Rights are those who have every intention of violating those protections.
Vote No on everything.
Measure 79 is a ridculous proposal to include in the Oregon constitution. The ads supporting it are even more so. The real estate industry is heavily subsidized by Federal and State tax laws that allow mortgage interest deductions. They should be counting their blessings. And, if a $200 transfer tax (were it ever enacted) stopped someone from buying a house, they couldn't have afforded the house anyway. One of the biggest problems in real estate is the realtors, mortgage brokers, etc., convincing people they can afford a home when they really can't.
@I812 .....yeah, you're right . Lets just keep paying and increasing taxes without any quantifiable results or meaningful return to the taxpayers.
 @Rob C 503  @I812 Sorry, that was for Rob C 503
 @Rob C 503  @I812 There is no tax increase. None. It's a solution looking for a problem that doesn't exist. It's the real estate industry trying to put laws into our constitution. Is that what you want, interest groups adding laws to our constitution for their gain? Who's side are you on?
@Rob C 503 Np "qnatifiable results." No "meaningful return." BS start to finish, just like the measure, which is a solution in search of a problem. Kind of like the Republicans trying to fix "voter fraud" when it is their very own signature gatherers perpetrating it.