Don't ask me what I want it for (Ah-ahh Mr. Wilson)

I almost fainted when I read the other day that Portland's mayor, Keith Wilson, wants to increase the exemption from the city's job-killing business tax from $50,000 a year of gross receipts to $100,000. A Portland politician talking tax relief? Honey, get the smelling salts!

While he's up, he ought to index that $100,000 threshold for inflation every year, the way civilized taxing authorities do. But that might be asking too much. Already City Council member Steve Novick is bleating out catcalls about Wilson's basic proposal, and I'm sure Stevie's four socialist colleagues and their two yes-people will have none of it, either.

Too bad. The mayor's idea, although not a monumental proposal, would at least send a mild signal to people with real lives that somebody at City Hall cares about them. Because honestly, for the past 15 years or more, it's been eminently clear that no one down there does. And the city and county tax systems are the worst offenders.

This week is an especially good time to reflect on how vicious Portland's revenue types are when it comes to taxpayers' money. Businesses have to make quarterly payments of their city and county taxes – a requirement that even the worthless Metro government has wisely abandoned except for people with the highest incomes – and if that weren't bad enough, Portland plays Grinch and requires the fourth quarter payment on December 15 every year. Any other tax system I've ever heard of gives taxpayers until January 15 to deposit their last quarterly tapper without penalty, but not Portland. Nope, and they seem proud of it.

Anyway, bravo Mr. Wilson for your tax relief idea, but please, add an inflation adjustment. And if you really want to help small business, get rid of quarterly payments entirely. The least you can do is move that fourth quarter payment to January 15, like everybody else. The one month of interest you collect is far outweighed by the deleterious effect of that giant middle finger that your revenue bureau so readily flashes to the world at holiday time.