Portland Oregon residents are already among highest taxed in nation.
So what does our City Council President think is a good idea: create NEW TAXES and not evaluate where city can be more efficient with existing ample taxes extracted from residents and businesses.
Streaming fees. City Council President Jamie Dunphy said “no more than a quarter, maybe 50 cents per streaming service.” He says the city will likely be sued over it but “… One additional lawsuit over this would not be particularly bad for our budget”.
Electric bill. PGE customers using an average amount of electricity could see rate hikes up to 2.8%, about $4.49 more per month, if the increase is approved this spring.
Gas. Oregon passed a 6-cent gas tax hike bringing it to 46 cents per gallon. It’s currently on hold pending a voter referendum in May.
Car registration.The same bill would add $66 to vehicle registration fees and $90 to title costs.
Parking. Rates jumped 25% on July 1. Downtown went from $2.40 to $3 per hour. The city also tried to extend meter hours to 10pm but backed down after business owners revolted.
Water and sewer. The city already approved a 6.34% increase in water, sewer and stormwater services this year.
Income taxes.
Multnomah County’s Preschool for All income tax rates are increasing in 2026, with the top rate jumping from 3% to 3.8%. This tax already generates surplus revenue and Portland is being pressured to delay this year’s increase.
Property taxes. Voters approved a 75% rate hike on the parks levy in November, jumping from $0.80 to $1.40 per $1,000 of assessed value, or about $310 a year for the median homeowner. But it turns out almost none of it can legally be used to fix the parks, which are 90% in poor condition.
We can’t afford to increase the tax burden. We should be focusing on making this a more appealing environment to do business in. A healthy economy will generate more revenue than tax increases.
All the city has done so far with “extra” money is add a thick layer of upper management plus extra staff for city councilors and filled them with cronies.
Don’t forget the $610 million preschool surplus at the end of FY 25, increasing from FY 24’s $485 million, followed by a consultant telling county enrollment projections need to be reduced by 25%.
If that’s not justification for indexing the tax for inflation, and indefinitely suspending the .8% tax increase scheduled for 2027 (a whopping 53% increase over the current 1.5% tax), I don’t what is!
the people Portland Metro Chamber CEO Andrew Hoan described last year as the “highly mobile middle class and higher-income earners who are choosing to leave.” Oh, and are these also the people that are stuck paying an increase in the parks levy that Hoan and his ridiculous organization of woke virtue signalers supported?
Portland Oregon residents are already among highest taxed in nation.
So what does our City Council President think is a good idea: create NEW TAXES and not evaluate where city can be more efficient with existing ample taxes extracted from residents and businesses.
Streaming fees. City Council President Jamie Dunphy said “no more than a quarter, maybe 50 cents per streaming service.” He says the city will likely be sued over it but “… One additional lawsuit over this would not be particularly bad for our budget”.
Electric bill. PGE customers using an average amount of electricity could see rate hikes up to 2.8%, about $4.49 more per month, if the increase is approved this spring.
Gas. Oregon passed a 6-cent gas tax hike bringing it to 46 cents per gallon. It’s currently on hold pending a voter referendum in May.
Car registration.The same bill would add $66 to vehicle registration fees and $90 to title costs.
Parking. Rates jumped 25% on July 1. Downtown went from $2.40 to $3 per hour. The city also tried to extend meter hours to 10pm but backed down after business owners revolted.
Water and sewer. The city already approved a 6.34% increase in water, sewer and stormwater services this year.
Income taxes.
Multnomah County’s Preschool for All income tax rates are increasing in 2026, with the top rate jumping from 3% to 3.8%. This tax already generates surplus revenue and Portland is being pressured to delay this year’s increase.
Property taxes. Voters approved a 75% rate hike on the parks levy in November, jumping from $0.80 to $1.40 per $1,000 of assessed value, or about $310 a year for the median homeowner. But it turns out almost none of it can legally be used to fix the parks, which are 90% in poor condition.
We can’t afford to increase the tax burden. We should be focusing on making this a more appealing environment to do business in. A healthy economy will generate more revenue than tax increases.
All the city has done so far with “extra” money is add a thick layer of upper management plus extra staff for city councilors and filled them with cronies.
Don’t forget the $610 million preschool surplus at the end of FY 25, increasing from FY 24’s $485 million, followed by a consultant telling county enrollment projections need to be reduced by 25%.
If that’s not justification for indexing the tax for inflation, and indefinitely suspending the .8% tax increase scheduled for 2027 (a whopping 53% increase over the current 1.5% tax), I don’t what is!
Great stuff, Eric. Thanks for writing it.
the people Portland Metro Chamber CEO Andrew Hoan described last year as the “highly mobile middle class and higher-income earners who are choosing to leave.” Oh, and are these also the people that are stuck paying an increase in the parks levy that Hoan and his ridiculous organization of woke virtue signalers supported?