Tweak this

The Portland area's horrible local income taxes are in the news again. First, the bobbleheads at the region's senseless, needless Metro layer of government want to tweak their homeless tax so that the money can go straight to the construction weasels to build housing projects (after the usual pit stop at the nonprofit complex for some suction). Apparently that would be a change to the law that requires a vote of the taxpaying public.

So far the tax has collected about a billion dollars since it took effect with the 2021 tax year. A billion dollars! Do you see a billion dollars worth of progress on homelessness when you drive around town? I don't see even a tenth of that. And so you can put me down as a no right now on anything but repeal.

If you want to "tweak" the homeless tax, then double the threshold for having to pay it so that only the truly wealthy have to. Right now the upper middle class is getting squeezed by it. I hate to break the news, but a family living on $200,000 in Portland is doing well, but it is by no means rich. 

Next, increase the thresholds every year automatically for inflation, like the feds have been doing for 40 years or so. Come on, Metro, get into the 20th Century, at least.

But above all, for the love of God, stop making people pay this money quarterly! Once a year for the gouging is quite enough hassle. The time value of the money, a lot of which is currently sitting around unspent, is simply not worth it. The only thing the quarterly requirement accomplishes is making more work for the collector bureaucracy. Tri-Met doesn't require quarterly payment of its self-employment tax. Metro should take a hint.

To do the job right, Metro should hire some level-headed, competent draftspeople to write the amendments, rather than leaving it to the Portland City Hall types who presently play judge, jury, and execuioner on the homeless tax. All those birds ever care about is how nasty they can be.

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Meanwhile, Metro and Multnomah County are dissatisfied with the service they're getting from the city revenue department, which for fees of eight figures a year collects the county's wasteful and misleading "preschool for all" income tax along with the Metro homeless tax. Not only are the city revenuers vicious in their dealings with the taxpayer, but they also assume the arrogant City Hall attitude when someone at the county or Metro asks for data on who's paying the taxes, who's supposed to be paying them but isn't, and perhaps most importantly, who's moving away rather than be subjected to them.

I have heard unofficially that the reason the county and Metro are stuck using the city tax bureau for administration and collection is that the state revenue department wants no part of administering the local taxes. By default, the City Hall bureaucrats are left running the show. And as always, if you have a career and a life and especially a car, City Hall wants you out. Apparently many successful people are obliging.

All of this news reminds us that Oregon needs a local taxpayer bill of rights to be enshrined in state law. Tell your legislators – if you can get a word in edgewise through their far-out psychobabble.