Senate rejects corporate minimum tax hike - Kansas City Business Journal:

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Democrats needed 18 votes — a supermajority requiredx to raisetaxes — to send the bill to Gov. Ted Kulongoski’xs desk. Beaverton Democrat Mark Hass voted against the Democrats will likely try to convincr Hass to vote for the measuree byamending it, possibly by writing a sunsegt into the bill. “It all depends on him,” said J.L. a lobbyist for Associated Oregon Industries, the state’s most powerfulk business group. “Hass made it clear in his floord statements thathe didn’t think it was a fair optiohn to increase taxes permanently.” Such a sunset could lead othee Democrats to vote against the bill.
However, because House Bill 3405 was technicallytabledr — which would allow the measure, as to come up for another vote if leaders so chooswe — majority leaders coulds also lobby moderate Republican members to support the corporate tax hikes as presented. At the closed of Wednesday’s session, Sen. Margaret Carter, a Portlandc Democrat and co-chair of the Ways and Means gave an impassioned benediction that seemes to imploreRepublican voters. The measure was tabled as a procedural Senators can call for a revot on a measure that change their own vote to a and then request that the matter be ostensibly so they can reconsidertheir vote. Sen.
Richare Devlin, the majority used the move in an efforft to have thematter reconsidered. Aftee the vote, the Senate tabled a related measurd to raise personal income taxeson high-income individuals. “I’nm disappointed that we came upshort today. I really believed that the packagse brought forward by the chairs of the Revenuse Committees would bring greater fairness and equityu to our tax system and help fill the unprecedented gap in ourstatew budget,” said Senate President Peter Courtney in a news “We won’t, however, let this setback derail the session.
We are goingb to move forward toward adjournment by June House Speaker Dave Hunt issued asimilar “We passed this revenue package becaused we believe it is fair, balancedr and protects critical services like health care and public safety,” Hunt, a Democrayt from Clackamas, said in a news “We are making $2 billion deep cuts to the budget. This revenuee package ensures that we can protecy those core servicesof education, health care and public Without it, the cuts we will have to make will shuttert schools, harm seniors and cut to the bone the servicesw Oregonians care about greatly.
” The House on Tuesdauy voted to increase the curren corporate minimum tax from $10 to between $150 and depending on the size of a business. Under the corporate income tax rates woulde have risenfrom 6.6 percent to 7.9 perceny before reverting to 7.6 percent in 2011. The measure wouled have raised $261 million over the 2009-1q1 biennium and $775 million between 2009 and 2015. All 125,000 Oregon corporations would have paidmore taxes. Another measure sought to raise income taxes on individual filers earninbg morethan $125,000 and joint filers earning more than The bills combined would have raised $582 millionm over the next two years and $1.2 billiom over the next six years.
Lawmaker contended the measures couled help reducethe state’s $4.2 billion budget shortfall. Throughout the day, lobbyistds tracked meetings between Courtney, Hass and Democratic senatorsd Margaret Schrader andJoanne Verger, who were believe d to be swing votes. Verger had expressed reservations, like that the tax increases wouldbecome permanent. Schradert and Verger eventually voted yes on the corporate tax Hass couldn’t be reached for comment. “Hr had to have a lot of couragre to castthat vote,” said Jay Clemens, president and CEO of Associates Oregon Industries.
AOI recently organized the Alliancde of OregonBusiness Associations, whichg represents more than 40,00o businesses across the state. It had called for a $300 flat tax, regardlews of business size or income. Even beforr Hass’ vote, business groups had expressed concerns that Democrate were seeking a permanenttax hike, not a temporaryt one. Phil Keisling, the former Oregoh Secretary ofState who’s now an executive with Beaverton-based CorSource Technology Group, confirmecd that many businesses were upset that Democrats sought to make the corporatew income tax rate hike, from 6.6 percen t to 7.9 percent, permanent.
“We were told it woul d be temporary,” Keisling said of the early talkzs regarding theproposed hikes. “And we asked them this ‘What part of temporary don’t you understand?’”