The ballot proposal comes as raising taxes on the wealthy and large corporations is at the forefront of a national debate — especially among Democratic progressives such as Bernie Sanders and much of Oregon's electorate— about how to close the gaping economic disparities between rich and poor in a post-Great Recession era.
The proposal's labor-union backers are just one step from getting the measure on the ballot after submitting 130,000 signatures to state elections officials last week. They say it would tap a tiny portion of Oregon businesses while bringing a huge boost to cash-strapped public education, health care and senior services.
But a long-awaited state analysis, released Monday, found the proposed tax hike would come with major pitfalls for wages, jobs and consumers' pocketbooks.
"Oregon would have the worst corporate tax climate in the country," said Nicole Kaeding, an economist with the Tax Foundation, a Washington, D.C., nonprofit that has closely watched the proposal. "If you think about it on a national level, these would be similar to changes in federal revenue by 3 to 4 percent. It's gigantic."
