Ag Supports Oregon's Measure 84 to End Death Tax

Agriculture Supports Oregon’s Measure 84 to End Death Tax

I’m KayDee Gilkey with the Northwest Farm and Ranch Report.

Oregon is one of only three states west of the Mississippi, and one of only 19 states that still has a death tax. Approximately 18 months, ago a young Oregon farmer set out to help make a change. ??Marie Bowers, fifth generation Oregon farmer and chief petitioner of Measure 84 shares why she has been an advocate for making this change in Oregon.

Bowers: “Agriculture is vital to the state’s economy and jobs in Oregon. We’ve seen a lot of hard economic times and a lot of job loss in this state. The Oregon Death Tax inhibits farmers from passing down land for future generations and continuing to provide jobs for Oregonians. One in eight jobs in Oregon is tied to agriculture. We need to end Oregon’s Death Tax to keep Oregon’s economy viable.”

Current tax on Oregon’s estates over $1 million value, range from 10 to 16 percent and that is in addition to the federal taxes. In Oregon, less than 1.5 percent of its General Fund revenue comes from estate taxes. Bower adds that this Death tax is a double tax imposed on estates developed by folks who have paid property taxes and income taxes all their lives.

Of those 75 businesses and organizations listed as endorsing Measure 84 on the website www.endoregondeathtax.com nearly two-thirds of those are agricultural and nature resources based.

Bowers: “For me ending Oregon’s Death Tax is more than the jobs we create for rural Oregon but about sustaining a legacy and land that my great-great grandpa started farming over a century ago that is my family’s livelihood.”
I’m KayDee Gilkey with the Northwest Farm and Ranch Report on the Ag Information Network.