Upcoming Events
Achieve
Green NW
June 1-3. Oregon
Convention Center
Ecosystem
Markets: Making Them Work
June
18-19. DoubleTree Lloyd Center.
________________
Achieve
Green NW
June 1-3. Oregon
Convention Center
Achieve
Green is
a two day conference (with an opening reception on the evening of June 1st)
that is focused on enhancing the opportunity for networking, education and
communication among people from diverse sectors that are influenced by
environmental and economic issues. Attendees will engage with business,
education, environmental and political leaders that contribute to the efforts
of environmentally responsible strategies. Learn
more.
Ecosystem
Markets: Making Them Work
June
18-19. DoubleTree Lloyd Center.
Using
markets to protect and restore ecosystems – and the many services they
provide – is gradually becoming a reality. But what are the critical
elements for success? What progress has been made? What still needs to be
done? What are the remaining challenges?
At this two-day national conference,
presented by Northwest Environmental Business Council and American Forest
Foundation, you will hear from national and regional experts, innovators, and
hands-on users of these evolving market models in a dialogue about: • recent
progress • what transactions can be done now • how these markets will
affect family forests and other land owners, and • how state and
regional efforts can merge into a common model. Learn
more.
|
Oregon Business Plan News
May 21, 2009
Business Plan
Steering Committee Offers Framework for Balancing the State Budget
The Oregon Legislature
faces difficult choices as it attempts to balance the general fund budget in
the face of declining revenue and increasing demand for public services.
Nothing less than
Oregon’s economic future and quality of life are at stake. Monday, the Ways
and Means Co-chair’s released a proposed state budget plan, which includes a
combination of spending cuts, unspecified tax increases and draw-downs on
federal aid and reserve funds. The
business community is carefully reviewing the plan, and pledges to engage with
Legislative leadership as final resolution is reached.
The Co-chairs budget
contains a series of goals, the first of which is: “Focus on Jobs and the Economy.” We applaud this priority.
We all recognize that the best route out of Oregon’s current budget
crisis is to get the economy moving.
With
this goal in mind, all of the business organizations associated with the
Oregon Business Plan are strongly opposed to the proposals presented this
morning to the House Revenue Committee that would increase corporate taxes by
42 percent, increasing corporate tax rates from 6.8 percent to 8.2 percent and
creating a gross receipts tax as a basis for setting the corporate minimum
tax. While recognizing our
state budget challenge, we are acutely aware that many employers are
laying off thousands of workers and shuttering factories. With Oregon's
unemployment rate at 12.1 percent, the second-highest level in the nation,
this proposal would drastically exacerbate and lengthen the recession, create
even more job losses and cause further deterioration of state revenue.
The Oregon Business Plan
Steering Committee offers its perspective on how to responsibly address the
looming shortfall in a way that best secures jobs and economic growth both now
and in the future.
We propose fives steps to address the shortfall.
1.
Establish a floor that protects
critical public services during this economic downturn.
In particular the floor would include education funding to ensure
student access and quality and human services funding to ensure a safety net
for the most vulnerable Oregonians.
2.
Retool education, human services and
public safety services to get more value out of those budgets both now and
in the future.
3.
Dedicate future kickers to a rainy
day fund to avoid wrenching budget choices down the road.
4.
Methodically draw down federal
stimulus dollars and reserve funds to support this floor, along with a
modest adjustment to the corporate minimum tax.
5.
After these steps are taken, if
additional revenues are needed to preserve services, adopt a temporary, across-the-board
income tax surcharge at a level sufficient to support the floor.
The business community
has jointly commissioned ECONorthwest to refine budget alternatives for this
upcoming biennium (and beyond) and is ready to work with public leaders to
craft a solution that protects vital services and supports a strong healthy
economy. As we review specific
proposals, we will be guided by these principles:
- It’s
time to get our fiscal house in order. The
economic crisis presents an unprecedented opportunity to re-examine budget
and revenue policies that historically have hindered sound economic
planning. Oregon needs to
re-examine policies, whether created by the Legislature or through the
initiative processes that have led to structural deficiencies in the
state’s budget and revenue processes.
We recommend that the legislature establish long-term state
budgeting, make the real cost of initiatives more apparent to voters,
reform the kicker and permanently and adequately finance a Rainy Day Fund.
- The
state must focus on a responsible spending plan.
This is a time to prioritize programs and focus on those most important to
the economic health and vitality of Oregonians. We need transparency in
all areas of budgeting and public contracting, including among local
entities that receive state funding. Budget and revenue decisions must be
sustainable over the long term, and they must support private sector job
creation and retention.
- It’s
time to carefully draw down reserves and federal stimulus dollars.
We are fortunate to have received federal stimulus dollars to support
state and local services. Those
resources should be used wherever possible to maximize the potential for
private sector job creation and to protect vital public programs.
We are also fortunate to have built up some reserve funds.
These must be used cautiously, in recognition of the continued
uncertainty about the size of Oregon’s budget hole. A primary focus of
the funds should be on preventing degradation of our educational programs.
- It
is time to institute a reasonable and permanent adjustment to the
state’s corporate minimum tax.
The Legislature must recognize that this tax will be targeted at some of
Oregon’s currently unprofitable employers, so care must be taken to
ensure it does not hinder job creation and retention among those
employers.
- We
must all share in the burdens of budget cuts and tax increases. All
segments of the economy, public and private, must participate in the
efforts to alleviate the impacts of the recession.
Any personal and corporate tax increases/surcharges enacted to
raise funds to deal with this economic crisis must be temporary, and be
shared by all Oregonians. Permanently changing the state’s
taxation policies, in the midst of a historic economic downturn, will hurt
Oregon’s ability to recover.
Last
but not least, the Oregon Business Plan applauds the emerging $300 million
transportation package to support maintenance and preservation of existing
roads
Back
to Home Page
Back
to Main News Page
|
