Voters trouncing Measure 118 on creating new corporate tax and rebate for residents

Measure 118 would increase corporate taxes and distribute the proceeds to all Oregonians regardless of their situation. (Getty Images)

Preliminary results show Oregon voters are trouncing Measure 118, which would increase corporate taxes and give all residents a yearly rebate.

According to the Secretary of State’s Office, 78% of voters oppose the measure while nearly 22% voted in favor.

One of two statewide citizen initiatives on the ballot, Measure 118 would add 3% the minimum tax for most businesses on sales over $25 million a year. Those proceeds would then be distributed to every resident, regardless of their age or situation, provided they lived in Oregon for at least 200 days in the applicable year. 

The measure is the most controversial on the ballot and united an unusual coalition of political opponents and executives against it, including Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek, about 50 lawmakers from both parties, labor unions and more than 200 companies and business groups. Opponents raised $19.4 and flooded the airwaves with TV ads, saying the measure would amount to a sales tax and cost consumers money. The idea is that corporations would raise prices to pay the tax and then raise consumer prices to pay for it.

Supporters included the Oregon Progressive Party, the Pacific Green Party, Teamsters Local 206 and a few other groups, along with Californians who support adopting a universal basic income that would give everyone a guaranteed amount of income every year, regardless of need: Josh Jones, a Los Angeles investor; the family and foundation of the late Gerald Huff, a California software engineer; and Dylan Hirsch-Shell, a former Tesla engineer and current candidate for mayor of San Francisco, who donated $100,000 to the campaign. 

Supporters said it would mark the start of a basic universal income – though the rebate would be far from that. It could range from $1,000 to 1,300 in 2026 and increase to $1,600 per person in 2027, according to a state analysis. The analysis also found that the program would reduce total personal income taxes by 33%, including reducing or eliminating personal income taxes for filers who earn less than $40,000 a year.