Published: November 6, 2017

For Immediate Release
November 7, 2017
Contact: Ben Morris, morrisb@seiu503.org

 

SEIU and AFSCME Call for Increased Corporate Tax Transparency in Oregon

Portland, OR – SEIU Local 503 and Oregon AFSCME released a report today calling for increased transparency from public corporations operating in Oregon.

The report, The Need for Corporate Tax Transparency in Oregon, highlights the fact that corporations disclose very little information about their state taxes in Oregon. Whereas public corporations disclose significantly more information at the national level, information that is critical to evaluating national tax policy.

“As a result, tax policy at the state and local level is based on assumptions,” the organizations say in the report, “and proposals to change policy are difficult for lawmakers and the public to fully evaluate.”

The report also provides details on Initiative Petition 25, which would require public corporations to disclose more information about the taxes they pay in Oregon. IP 25 is expected to appear on the November 2018 ballot.

The report details specific situations where transparency would inform more effective public policy. Do tax incentive programs deliver the benefits they’re designed to deliver? Do corporations use tax avoidance schemes, such as offshoring, to hide profits? Do laws that treat industries and companies differently create an unfair business environment?

These are questions Oregon can’t answer without company-specific corporate tax disclosure. Yet they may hold the key to writing effective tax policy in the state.

The report is available here: http://bit.ly/2hfeRtb

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