Taxes, revenue issues key for area lawmakers
By Larry Meyer
Argus Observer
Sunday, April 5, 2009 2:50 AM PDT
ONTARIO-A key question haunting the 2009 Oregon Legislature is an age-old one: When is a fee a fee, and when is a tax a tax?
The query is so important now because the state is in the middle of what can only be termed as a budget meltdown with a growing deficit looming on the horizon and lawmakers scrambling to find a fiscal solution.
“When he dollars are not related to services provided it’s a tax,” state Sen. Ted Ferrioli, R-John Day said Friday during the Ontario Chamber of Commerce Legislative Hotline.
The “what is a tax and what isn’t” is so important, Ferrioli said, that it can lead to another question: Are some attempts to raise revenue even legal?
He noted, in the past, the state has borrowed money from certain funds and has had to pay back the money as the result of lawsuits.
Ferrioli said there are basically three ways to reduce the deficit — cut the spending, raise taxes or borrow.
“We need a healthy private sector to have a healthy public sector,” he said.
At his townhall meeting Saturday at Vale High School, state Rep. Cliff Bentz noted that state Democrats have the numbers in the House and Senate to do anything they want.
“I try to be a positive influence to impact some change,” he said.
One piece of legislation Bentz talked about was Senate Bill No. 740. The bill will tack on an extra $100 fee to all water rights certificates.
Bentz said he has been arguing that everybody using water should be paying the fee, including the person turning on a faucet. He said he does not know how far he will get with the idea.
Another house bill would ban smoking in vehicles when there are children present and another one would require hand free devices for cell phones while driving.
A bill of interest to local residents is House Bill No. 3153 which would ban the siting of transmission lines on lands zoned for exclusive farm use.
A hearing on the bill is scheduled for 1 p.m. (Pacific time) April 9 in Salem.
Called the Main Street Bill, House Bill No. 3095, is the Republican Caucus economic stimulus legislation which would provide a $50,000 tax credit for homeowners who invest in home improvements and $500,000 to business owners who make capital improvements to their business facilities.
Switching to the economic impact of budget cuts, Bentz said for every 5 percent reduction of the budget, the impact to Malheur County would be more than $5.5 million in lost economic activity and 107 lost jobs.
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