Today, the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved a resolution to align the Business Income Tax with the Business License Fee reform [0] which Portland City Council adopted in January 2007. Essentially, this change results in a $1.7 million tax relief package for the small business community.
Below is the testimony given by Sam at the hearing:
Good morning. I am here to congratulate you on your leadership to improve equity of the County's Business Income Tax. You are doing in a few months what took Warren (Jimenez) and myself two years to accomplish.
These reform measures are groundbreaking. In January 2007, City Council unanimously approved a resolution to improve equity to the BLF and invest in our small business community. City Council increased the gross receipt exemption to $50,000 and owners compensation deduction to $80,000. This entrepreneurial investment was $3 million. The City will also institute a progressive minimum fee based on the number of employees, gross receipts in Portland or a combination of these two options.
In the 13 months leading up to this point, my office engaged various stakeholders by discussing this issue. We held a special meeting with large employers in our region; we held three town halls inviting more than 8000 stakeholders; we held two City Council work sessions; and we met with Neighborhood Business Districts, Small Business Advisory Council, the Minority Chambers of Commerce and the Alliance of Neighborhood Business Associations. The feedback was clear. We needed to improve the equity of this tax. This is what you are considering today.
This changes improve the equity of this tax. This tax hits our City and County's smallest businesses the hardest and places an unfair burden on professional service companies and those that are just starting out.
It makes good economic sense to support our vibrant small business community. As you all already know, small business is the engine that drives our economy. An initiative like this supports growth - generating more jobs and additional resources for vital County services.
Thanks you for your consideration and allow me to speak on this issue. I look forward to working with the County Board to continue this journey of improving equity to our business tax system.