HBA Contributes $10,000 to Defeat Payroll Tax
The Home Builders Association of Marion & Polk Counties has contributed $10,000 to the campaign to defeat the employee-paid payroll tax that will be before Salem voters on the November 7th ballot. The association’s Board of Directors voted in late September to oppose the tax and contribute funds from the organization’s political action committee to help ensure the tax’s defeat. The tax was originally passed by the Salem City Council earlier this summer despite a public outcry that the Council was passing the tax without a public vote. Oregon Business & Industry, the state’s statewide business lobby, successfully gathered enough signatures in the following weeks to force the city to place the tax measure before the voters.
With a tax rate of .814% on all wages and self-employment income earned in the city of Salem, the average taxpayer earning $60,000 annually would pay $500 annually in new taxes should voters approve the tax. The HBA’s Board was especially concerned with the difficulties the tax creates for construction employers who have mobile workforces that frequently work inside and outside city limits, making record keeping especially challenging for small businesses who comprise the vast majority of the association’s membership. “The tax would be incredibly problematic for small construction employers”, said Oleg Foksha, HBA President, ” as most generally lack the more sophisticated payroll systems necessary to track what parts of an employee’s paycheck were earned inside or outside of the Salem city limits.”
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