Kicker is in the cards for Oregon taxpayers

SALEM, Ore. (AP) – The strong economy is making it increasingly likely that Oregon’s kicker law will be triggered.

The Register-Guard reports (https://is.gd/tAZV3F ) that would send hundreds of millions of dollars back to taxpayers, even as lawmakers contemplate cutting services to plug a $1.6 billion gap.

The kicker law was created in 1979 as a check on government growth. It’s triggered when the state collects at least 2 percent more than anticipated during a two-year budget cycle. When that happens, the additional money is kicked back to taxpayers.

Personal income tax revenues beat projections by $208 million in the first three months of 2017. If that trend continues until the summer, the kicker will likely be triggered.

Oregon taxpayers last got their kicker in 2015, receiving an average refund of $240. Before 2015, they had gone eight years without a rebate, due to the recession.