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Oregon Democrats, Governor Say They'll Skip The Corporate Tax Hike

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown
Office of the Governor
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown

Democrats in the Oregon Legislature and Gov. Kate Brown say they are giving up trying to increase taxes on corporations during this year's legislative session.

Democrats had hopes of overhauling the way the state taxes corporations. The goal was to raise revenue for services including schools and health care.

But the governor, along with House Speaker Tina Kotek and Senate President Peter Courtney, now all have said there won't be enough votes to get the proposal enacted, and so they're pulling the plug.

Brown called it a disappointment but pledged to keep working on the issue.

"It is clear that we need additional time and a full legislative session to work through the issues facing our tax system," she said.

Republicans, including House GOP leader Mike McLane, said they would have been happy to raise corporate taxes if Democrat had budged more on cost-cutting proposals.

"It's disappointing that we've digressed into shame and blame politics at this point," McLane said.

Democrats said they'll try again in 2019.

Copyright 2017 Northwest News Network

Chris Lehman graduated from Temple University with a journalism degree in 1997. He landed his first job less than a month later, producing arts stories for Red River Public Radio in Shreveport, Louisiana. Three years later he headed north to DeKalb, Illinois, where he worked as a reporter and announcer for NPR–affiliate WNIJ–FM. In 2006 he headed west to become the Salem Correspondent for the Northwest News Network.
Chris Lehman
Chris Lehman graduated from Temple University with a journalism degree in 1997. He landed his first job less than a month later, producing arts stories for Red River Public Radio in Shreveport, Louisiana. Three years later he headed north to DeKalb, Illinois, where he worked as a reporter and announcer for NPR–affiliate WNIJ–FM. In 2006 he headed west to become the Salem Correspondent for the Northwest News Network.