Last week, the Oregon House of Representatives voted to close a tax break that has made the wealthiest Oregonians even wealthier while leaving our schools and services starving for revenue.
The Schedule E tax break just isn’t fair. A new report shows that this controversial tax break has disproportionately benefited the wealthiest Oregonians, while leaving everyday families behind. Among the report’s findings:
- About 70% of the top 1% of income filers report Schedule E income.
- In the bottom 60% of filers, less than one in 10 file a Schedule E.
- The top 1% claims 59% of Schedule E income; 83% goes to the top 5%.
Meanwhile, Oregon is home to the third-largest class sizes in the country and hundreds of thousands of families will lose their healthcare if the Affordable Care Act is repealed. It’s more important than ever before that we invest in Oregon families to avoid devastating cuts.
Fixing the runaway “Schedule E” tax break is the right thing to do, and we’re glad our elected leaders are stepping up. But there’s still more work to be done. This week, the Senate will vote on whether to narrow the tax break so real small businesses qualify, but already wealthy lawyers and doctors don’t. This is another chance to make sure our legislators continue to stand up for working families. We already have a $1.4 billion budget deficit thanks to our low corporate taxes, and we simply can’t afford more giveaways for Oregon’s wealthiest.
Read the full report here, then tell your legislator to stop runaway tax breaks for millionaires.
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