Some Oregon lawmakers are working to make stimulus payments to be tax-free for some 870,000 taxpayers in the state, according to KOIN 6.
The first round of stimulus checks is expected to bring in over $100 million in tax revenue for Oregon, according to reporters. Upon learning this, U.S. House Rep. Peter DeFazio wrote a letter to Gov. Kate Brown and the Oregon legislature, urging them to make stimulus payments tax-free.
“It is unconscionable to ask those working families who have struggled the most during this crisis to bear the weight of the state’s budget shortfall," he wrote.
Oregon State Sen. Dick Anderson also introduced a bill on Wednesday (March 3) aiming at refunding taxpayers. “Part of their stimulus checks from the federal government were being siphoned off by the state and I don’t think that was the intent and we have evidence that that was not the intent, so there needs to be a fix,” Anderson said.
If the bill passes, the state Department of Revenue would have to send refund checks to people who had their taxes taken out of their stimulus payments. It's reportedly similar to how the Oregon "kicker" tax rebate was handled.
Gov. Brown’s office claims some provisions of the CARES Act reduced the state’s revenue, but DeFazio argued that the state is expected to receive $2.6 billion in the next round of COVID-19 relief. Making up lost funds should not fall to taxpayers, he said.
Photo: Getty Images