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A Multnomah County circuit judge ruled Sept. 1 that the regional government Metro cannot call the funding mechanism for its $5 billion transportation measure a business tax but stopped short of approving opponents' efforts to label it a payroll tax.
Opponents of the measure filed a challenge to the ballot title July 31, seeking to revise the language voters will see when they vote on the November measure. Judge Steffan Alexander ruled on the case today.
Alexander selected a middle ground between the two sides. The measure will ask voters: "Should Metro fund roads, transit, safety improvements, bridge repair, transportation programs by establishing a tax on certain employers (0.75% of payroll)?"
Opponents succeeded in one small but potentially significant way: keeping the term "business tax" off the ballot. But at the same time, Metro beat back attempts to call the proposal a payroll tax, as well as to indicate explicitly the tax would endure indefinitely.
"We are excited the judge rejected corporate challenges and know that voters are ready to make these long-overdue investments in safety, equity and jobs," says Abigail Doerr, a spokeswoman for the Get Moving campaign.
The measure would charge employers a tax of up to 0.75% of total payroll, excepting state and local governments and firms with under 25 employees.
The change opponents sought appeared to be something Metro had concerns over. Records obtained by WW showed that Metro employees had called the measure a payroll tax internally, and opponents argued that showed the regional government was attempting to find a more palatable term for the tax. (Metro officials said they were merely looking for a term that was more accurate.)
To date, Metro's public polling has asked about a "business tax" on "larger businesses." In June, the polling results, which unlike the measure included a vehicle registration tax, showed only 47% approval, which suggested a problem even before an aggressive, well-funded campaign was organized to oppose it.
Neither side has released polling results for a tax on employers.
“We are appreciative that the court directed Metro to stop use misleading language in their draft ballot title and question,” said Jeff Reading, communications director for Stop the Metro Wage Tax.
“We are relieved that the force of logic behind our most important argument was too strong to be denied: Namely, a tax that applies to churches, schools, colleges and nonprofits cannot reasonably be called a tax on business.”
But Reading also took the unusual step of calling into question the judge's abilities.
“It’s unfortunate that the court’s least experienced judge was assigned a case with $5.2 billion of voters’ paychecks at stake, and that there’s no appeal process for those who feel the court shouldn’t have deferred to Metro’s lawyers to write in essence their own ballot title,” he added in his statement. “Worst of all, the ballot title still fails to mention that no matter what Metro does with the new money initially, this tax, once created, is permanent.”