New Poll Predicts Bitter, Expensive Fight Over Corporate Taxes

Tuesday, November 24, 2015

GoLocalPDX News Team

Adam Davis of DHM Research

A new poll released this weekend from Portland-based political polling and research firm DHM Research showed that a majority of Oregon residents supported a corporate tax hike and predicted a bitter and expensive fight over the proposed ballot measure.

DHM’s poll asked 500 likely voters in the state of Oregon whether the supported Initiative Petition 28, which would “increase [ the] corporate minimum tax when sales exceed $25 million” and would dedicate the additional revenue to “education, healthcare, [and] senior services.”

When respondents were only given the ballot’s title, 59 percent of voters supported the measure. However, when provided with a brief description of what the measure would do, only 54 percent said they supported the measure.

DHM’s report said those results could be good news for either side and predict a tough fight if the measure does appear on ballots next November.

These results can be interpreted as good news for the campaigns on either side of the issue,” the report said. “The positive results of the initial test will drive support, while negative messaging and possible alternatives—both of which tested well—will be used to sow doubt in voters’ minds. The virulent support and opposition could lead to a tough fight, resulting in tens of millions of dollars spent on each side.”

Adam Davis, a founding partner of DHM research called the impending battle over Petition 28 as a “dark cloud on Oregon’s horizon.

“Having studied Oregonians’ values and beliefs for almost four decades, I’m concerned that the amount of money spent on advertising, and the nature of that advertising, will just feed the negativity people have about government and politics,” Davis said. “I’m afraid that it will result in less broad-based participation in the system and further political polarization in our state at a time when we need everyone on deck and working together.”

Related Slideshow: How Oregon Stacks Up for Taxes

The Tax Foundation ranked the highest and lowest taxes for each state, with the most recent data aviaiable. The higher the ranking, the more tax is due. Here's some of Oregon's lowest and highest rankings: