Gov. Brown: No deal on tax reform this year
SALEM, Ore. (AP) – Democratic lawmakers in Salem have surrendered their efforts to overhaul Oregon’s corporate tax code before the Legislature adjourns.
The announcement came in a statement Thursday morning issued by Gov. Kate Brown, House Speaker Tina Kotek and Senate President Peter Courtney.
Democrats exhausted their efforts in recent weeks to raise millions of additional revenue from businesses for the upcoming 2017-19 budget. As a tax hike, Democrats’ proposal needed some support from Republicans, who refused to budge for months.
Brown, Kotek and Courtney say they’ll try again likely in 2019.
On Wednesday, lawmakers solved a huge chunk of the budget deficit, previously $1.4 billion, by passing several health care-related taxes and policies that’ll fill nearly $900 million of that gap.
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News release:
Oregon Leaders Call for Balanced Budget Now, Structural Reform in 2019
(Salem, OR) — Governor Kate Brown, Senate President Peter Courtney, and Speaker Tina Kotek today released the following statement:
“For the past several months, the Legislature has worked hard to balance the state’s budget. There is now a clear path to rein in costs and protect vital services in this biennium. To protect access to health care and keep premiums lower, the Legislature has passed a package of bills that will save coverage for a million low-income Oregonians on the Oregon Health Plan. To reduce the cost of delivering state services, we have offered a plan to save nearly $1 billion in total funds through the Governor’s executive actions and the bipartisan cost-containment strategies in Senate Bill 1067.
“While we are able to protect critical services for now, in the long run we must do more. For two decades, lawmakers have struggled to patch together budgets that fund the basic needs of our state amidst the ups and downs of the economy. As we have said since the start of session, the shortfall in the current two-year budget is a red flag – a sign that short-term fixes will not keep up with the priorities of our growing state for much longer.
“Recognizing that imbalance, we have worked for months with legislators in both parties, business leaders, and labor leaders, to identify ways to reduce state spending, contain costs going forward, and finally reform our revenue system. While we are moving forward on several major cost containment measures, it has become clear that the Legislature will not have the necessary support to achieve structural revenue reforms this session.
“Still, we have laid the groundwork for long-term reform to bring balance to our budget and tax system. As the Legislature closes out its business, we will also start planning the next steps to lead to success in the 2019 session. We appreciate the leaders who have come forward to provide meaningful input so far, and look forward to continuing that work. To achieve resolution for our state, all parties will need to stay at the table, focus on structural reform rather than short-term patches that merely shore up the next two-year budget, and be ready to compromise for the good of the state.”
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Statement from Majority Leader Jennifer Williamson on Republican Failure to Come to the Table on Revenue Reform
“This session, we had not only an opportunity, but a moral obligation to rebuild the broken pieces of our budget and revenue systems, which have been crumbling for more than two decades. House Democrats worked for months in good faith to put all of the pieces together–we put forward proposals to reduce the cost of government, make targeted budget cuts, and reform business taxes in a way that reduces the tax burden on working households.
“These proposals would have allowed us to begin fulfilling the promises we’ve made to an entire generation children–and have failed to deliver. Educators do an amazing job of teaching our kids under tough circumstances, but the fact is that elected leaders have failed to fix the broken funding system that has put our kids on one budget rollercoaster after another. This year, we could have begun solving this longstanding crisis. Instead, we’re telling our students, yet again: Not this time.
“House Democrats were ready to make transformational changes to how we fund and deliver critical services to students, seniors, and struggling families. The House Democrats’ plan would have stabilized education funding, boosted the economy, and delivered tax relief for working families. Unfortunately, Republicans have chosen to stand in the way rather than work collaboratively in order to solve the biggest problems facing our state.
“I’m outraged that Republicans would play games with Oregon’s future. I’m outraged that Republicans would engage in obstructionism that is robbing our children of the education they deserve. I’m outraged that Republicans would put empty, partisan rhetoric over the needs of every resident of this state.
“As we close out this legislative session and beyond, House Democrats are committed to long-term reforms that will finally build a future that lives up to our collective expectations. That work begins anew today .”
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News release from Oregon House Republican Office:
House Republicans respond to the shame and blame politics of Majority Leader Jennifer Williamson and House Democrats
Salem, Ore. – House Republican Leader Mike McLane (R-Powell Butte) issued the following statement in response to House Majority Leader Jennifer Williamson’s attempt to blame Republicans for the failure of tax reform this session :
“Republicans have been working in good faith for months to chart the best course forward for the state of Oregon. We said before the session began that we would be open to raising revenue if Democrats were willing to engage in a serious effort to grow the economy and control costs. The Democrats were not willing to do that.
“House Democrats failed to produce this session the budget changes needed to support our communities. Oregonians have had enough of their attempts to use shame and blame politics to avoid taking responsibility for their failures.”
