Economist Mary King explains the need for taxes and the inequities of current property taxes in Oregon, and she proposes several ways to raise state and local funding to support housing, health care, education, and more.
Why do we need taxes and what can we do to fund the things we need? Frann Michel talks with Mary King, Economics Professor Emerita at Portland State University, a columnist with Portland's Street Roots newspaper, a former candidate for Oregon State Treasurer with the Working Families Party, and an activist and organizer here in Portland.
In the first 15 minutes of the conversation, Mary King explains the need for taxes and the inequities of current property taxes in Oregon, and she proposes adding more brackets at the top of the state income scale as well as placing capital gains taxes in a dedicated fund so as not to trigger the kicker. In addition, a one percent wealth tax on those who have $30 million or more in financial assets would bring the state $1.5 billion.
The conversation then turns to local taxes and the city budget. In Portland, we might increase the Inequality Tax, aka the Pay Ratio Surcharge, which increases the Business License Tax for corporations that have both very highly paid CEOs and a large disparity between median worker pay and CEO compensation. We might expand a tax like the wildly successful Portland Clean Energy Fund (PCEF) gross receipts tax on giant retail businesses, to cover other industries and for other needs. The conversation also touches on other ways to balance the Portland City budget, including reforms of policing and the police budget, auditing Prosper Portland, auditing the contract with the Portland Business Alliance, and organizing around the current city budget process.
Image: Photo "Tax the Rich" by Jon Evans, CC by 2.0, cropped.