Oregon families should get $284 in tax rebates next year

SALEM, Ore. — Oregon families should get an average of $284 dollars in tax rebates next year, state economists said Thursday, citing a strong economy and a bump in job growth.

Economists say the rebates will totally nearly $473 million, or $123 million more than was predicted in February, when economists said taxpayers would receive nearly $350 million in tax rebates.

The steady economic improvements have led the state to collect slightly more than projected in both corporate and personal income taxes.

Unlike previous rebates, which used to be distributed as a check in the mail around Christmas, Oregonians will instead receive a tax credit and pay less when they file their returns in April 2016, said Josh Lehner, senior economist at the Oregon Office of Economic Analysis

“It’s a credit on the tax return so you don’t get the check in the mail, you just get lower taxes to pay in April,” he said.

Oregon’s one-of-a-kind “kicker” law is triggered when tax collections exceed projections by at least 2 percent. When that occurs, the unanticipated revenue gets kicked back to taxpayers as income tax credits. The last time Oregonians got a kicker was in 2007, when they got back a total of more than $1 billion after a booming economy brought in revenue more than 19 percent higher than expected.

The report of a strengthening economy drew optimism from lawmakers who said they’d invest some of the money in public education.

Gov. Kate Brown said in a statement that robust economic growth means an additional $100 million for schools, and Senate Majority Leader Diane Rosenbaum said at least 40 percent of the extra resources will be dedicated to the K-12 budget.

House Republican Leader Mike McLane, of Powell Butte, said while the revenue forecast was a sign the state’s economy was on the upswing, Democrats in the Legislature have been underfunding schools despite the additional revenue. In March, Democrats and Republicans butted heads over the education budget, with Republicans saying the state had plenty of money but that Democrats weren’t making education a high enough priority.

“The Legislature doesn’t have a revenue problem, it has a leadership and priorities problem,” he said. “Oregon taxpayers know how to spend their money better than we do,” he added.

Despite the rosy outlook, news of the tax rebate drew chants and protests from students sitting in the committee hearing who wanted the money to be siphoned back into higher education. Shouting “the kicker has got to go,” a handful of students were escorted from the room, but continued their cries outside the doors while economists continued with their report.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

Alan Dean, who is accused of the 1993 strangulation murder of 15-year-old Bothell girl Melissa Lee, appears in court during opening statements of his trial on Monday, March 18, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Guilty: Jury convicts Bothell man in long-unsolved 1993 killing

Even after police arrested Alan Dean in 2020, it was unclear if he would stand trial. He was convicted Thursday in the murder of Melissa Lee, 15.

Ariel Garcia, 4, was last seen Wednesday morning in an apartment in the 4800 block of Vesper Dr. (Photo provided by Everett Police)
Everett police searching for missing child, 4

Ariel Garcia was last seen Wednesday at an apartment in the 4800 block of Vesper Drive. The child was missing under “suspicious circumstances.”

The rezoned property, seen here from the Hillside Vista luxury development, is surrounded on two sides by modern neighborhoods Monday, March 25, 2024, in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Despite petition, Lake Stevens OKs rezone for new 96-home development

The change faced resistance from some residents, who worried about the effects of more density in the neighborhood.

Rep. Suzan DelBene, left, introduces Xichitl Torres Small, center, Undersecretary for Rural Development with the U.S. Department of Agriculture during a talk at Thomas Family Farms on Monday, April 3, 2023, in Snohomish, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Under new federal program, Washingtonians can file taxes for free

At a press conference Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene called the Direct File program safe, easy and secure.

Former Snohomish County sheriff’s deputy Jeremie Zeller appears in court for sentencing on multiple counts of misdemeanor theft Wednesday, March 27, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Ex-sheriff’s deputy sentenced to 1 week of jail time for hardware theft

Jeremie Zeller, 47, stole merchandise from Home Depot in south Everett, where he worked overtime as a security guard.

Everett
11 months later, Lake Stevens man charged in fatal Casino Road shooting

Malik Fulson is accused of shooting Joseph Haderlie to death in the parking lot at the Crystal Springs Apartments last April.

T.J. Peters testifies during the murder trial of Alan Dean at the Snohomish County Courthouse on Tuesday, March 26, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Bothell cold case trial now in jury’s hands

In court this week, the ex-boyfriend of Melissa Lee denied any role in her death. The defendant, Alan Dean, didn’t testify.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.