Oregon Measure 118, Corporate Tax Revenue Rebate for Residents Initiative (2024)

Oregon Measure 118
Election date November 5, 2024
Topic Taxes
Status d Defeated
Type State statute	Origin Citizens

Oregon Measure 118, the Corporate Tax Revenue Rebate for Residents Initiative, was on the ballot in Oregon as an initiated state statute on November 5, 2024. The ballot measure was defeated.

A "yes" vote supported increasing the corporate minimum tax on sales exceeding $25 million by 3%, removing the minimum tax cap, and distributing increased revenue to Oregon residents who spend more than 200 days in the state.

A "no" vote opposed increasing the corporate minimum tax on sales exceeding $25 million by 3%, removing the minimum tax cap, and distributing increased revenue to Oregon residents who spend more than 200 days in the state.

Election results

Oregon Measure 118
Result		Votes	Percentage
Yes		477,516	22.53%
No		1,641,682	77.47%

Results are officially certified.

Source

Overview

How would Measure 118 have increased taxes that corporations pay in the state?

See also: Measure design

In Oregon, corporations pay either the corporate income tax or the minimum tax, whichever is higher. Measure 118 would have increased the minimum tax on corporations with Oregon sales by enacting a 3% tax on sales greater than $25 million in addition to the minimum tax amount already required by law.

The initiative would have authorized the Department of Revenue to distribute the additional revenue from the corporate sales tax equally to eligible residents each year. An eligible resident would have needed to reside in the state for a total of 200 days of the eligibility year.

Who supported and opposed Measure 118?

See also: Support and Opposition

Oregon Rebate led the Yes on 118 campaign in support of the initiative. The initiative received endorsements from the Oregon Progressive Party, Pacific Green Party, and Progressive Democrats of America. The campaign reported $830,237 in contributions through October 29, 2024. Antonio Gisbert, the chief petitioner of the initiative, said, "Poverty in Oregon would go way down. The Oregon Rebate is estimated to reduce child poverty by about 26%. That’s a huge change, right? Like you, like if a family of four gets 3,000 bucks—boom, lump sum—that’s money that family can use to make the situation better. Why should we have poverty when we have so much wealth around us?"

No on 118 led the campaign in opposition to Measure 118. The initiative was opposed by U.S. Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R), U.S. Rep. Val Hoyle (D), Gov. Tina Kotek (D), Intel Corporation, Nike, Inc., and Oregon Business Council. The committee reported over $16.8 million in contributions. Gov. Tina Kotek (D) said, "I am opposed to this ballot measure. It may look good on paper, but its flawed approach would punch a huge hole in the state budget and put essential services for low-wage and working families at risk."

Did any states have similar rebate programs?

As of 2024, the only other state that offered a similar rebate was Alaska, which also offered direct cash transfer payments funded by oil extraction taxes. Eligible residents must have resided in Alaska for a full year. The average payment in its 42-year history was $1,200.

Text of measure

Ballot title

The certified ballot title was as follows:

“

Increases highest corporate minimum taxes; distributes revenue to eligible individuals; state replaces reduced federal benefits Result of 'Yes' Vote: 'Yes' vote increases corporate minimum tax on Oregon sales exceeding $25,000,000; eliminates tax cap; distributes revenue to eligible individuals; state replaces any reduced federal benefits. Result of 'No' Vote: 'No' vote retains existing corporate minimum taxes on Oregon sales; twelve tax brackets impose different tax amounts, capped at $100,000 tax on sales exceeding $100,000,000.

”

Ballot summary

The ballot summary was as follows:

“

Current law requires corporations to pay higher of either tax on taxable income or corporate minimum tax. Except S corporations, minimum tax amount determined by tax bracket based on corporation’s Oregon sales; minimum tax capped at $100,000 for $100,000,000 or more in sales. Beginning 2025, measure removes minimum tax cap; increases minimum tax on all corporations with Oregon sales exceeding $25,000,000 by imposing additional tax of 3% for sales above $25,000,000. Measure directs Department of Revenue to equally distribute increased revenue (minus certain costs) to all individuals residing more than 200 days annually in Oregon. Revenue distribution does not affect individual eligibility for state benefits; measure requires replacement of reduced federal benefits if distribution negatively affects individual’s benefits under any need-based program. Other provisions.

”

Full text

The full text of the ballot measure is below:

Readability score

See also: Ballot measure readability scores, 2024

Using the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL) and Flesch Reading Ease (FRE) formulas, Ballotpedia scored the readability of the ballot title and summary for this measure. Readability scores are designed to indicate the reading difficulty of text. The Flesch-Kincaid formulas account for the number of words, syllables, and sentences in a text; they do not account for the difficulty of the ideas in the text. The attorney general wrote the ballot language for this measure.

The FKGL for the ballot title is grade level 12, and the FRE is 21. The word count for the ballot title is 70.

The FKGL for the ballot summary is grade level 14, and the FRE is 17. The word count for the ballot summary is 118.

Support

Oregon Rebate led the campaign in support of the initiative.

Supporters

Political Parties

• Oregon Progressive Party
• Pacific Green Party

Unions

• Teamsters Local 206

Organizations

• Progressive Democrats of America

Arguments

• Antonio Gisbert, the chief petitioner of the initiative: "Poverty in Oregon would go way down. The Oregon Rebate is estimated to reduce child poverty by about 26%. That’s a huge change, right? Like you, like if a family of four gets 3,000 bucks—boom, lump sum—that’s money that family can use to make the situation better. Why should we have poverty when we have so much wealth around us?"

Opposition

No on 118 led the campaign in opposition to Measure 118. To see a list of endorsements, click here.

Opponents

Officials

• U.S. Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R)
• U.S. Rep. Val Hoyle (D)
• Gov. Tina Kotek (D)
• State Senate Majority Leader Kathleen Taylor (D)
• State Senate President Rob Wagner (D)
• State House Majority Leader Ben Bowman
• State House Speaker Julie Fahey (D)
• State Treasurer Tobias Read (D)

Corporations

• Intel Corporation
• Koch Companies
• Nike, Inc.

Unions

• American Federation of Teachers - Oregon
• IBEW Local 48
• LiUNA Local 737
• Oregon AFL-CIO
• Oregon AFSCME
• Oregon Education Association
• Oregon Nurses Association
• Oregon State Fire Fighters Council
• Teamsters Joint Council 37
• UFCW Local 555

Organizations

• League of Women Voters of Oregon
• Multifamily NW
• NFIB
• Oregon Association of Nurseries
• Oregon Business Council
• Oregon Business and Industry
• Oregon Center for Public Policy
• Oregon Farm Bureau
• Oregon League of Conservation Voters
• Portland Metro Chamber
• SEIU Oregon
• Tax Fairness Oregon
• Western States Petroleum Association

Arguments

• Gov. Tina Kotek (D): "I am opposed to this ballot measure. It may look good on paper, but its flawed approach would punch a huge hole in the state budget and put essential services for low-wage and working families at risk."
• Jared Walczak, vice president of State Projects at the Tax Foundation: "Proponents of IP-17 want to use the revenue from the tax increase to fund an annual rebate check, which they estimate at $750 per person on the assumption that the tax will raise at least $3 billion in additional revenue. That might sound good. But if it raises the cost of goods, drives jobs and economic activity out of state, and puts Oregon-based businesses at a massive disadvantage with their out-of-state competitors, it’s likely to be an awful deal for Oregonians."

Campaign finance

See also: Campaign finance requirements for Oregon ballot measures

The campaign finance information on this page reflects the most recent scheduled reports that Ballotpedia has processed, which covered through December 31, 2024.

Oregon People's Rebate registered as a political action committee (PAC) to support Measure 118. Defeat the Costly Tax on Sales registered as a PAC to oppose Measure 118. Three additional PACs that advocate for or against multiple measures also opposed Measure 118.

	Cash Contributions	In-Kind Contributions	Total Contributions	Cash Expenditures	Total Expenditures
Support	$811,124.50	$19,112.69	$830,237.19	$854,256.59	$873,369.28
Oppose	$17,859,884.40	$973,901.26	$18,833,785.66	$16,507,225.66	$17,481,126.92
Total	$18,671,008.90	$993,013.95	$19,664,022.85	$17,361,482.25	$18,354,496.20

Support

The following table includes contribution and expenditure totals for the committee in support of the measure.

Committees in support of Measure 118
Committee	Cash Contributions	In-Kind Contributions	Total Contributions	Cash Expenditures	Total Expenditures
Oregon People's Rebate	$811,124.50	$19,112.69	$830,237.19	$854,256.59	$873,369.28
Total	$811,124.50	$19,112.69	$830,237.19	$854,256.59	$873,369.28

Donors

The following were the top donors who contributed to the support committee.

Donor	Cash Contributions	In-Kind Contributions	Total Contributions
Jones Holding LLC	$510,000.00	$0.00	$510,000.00
Jones Parking Inc.	$94,750.00	$0.00	$94,750.00
Gisele Huff	$50,000.00	$0.00	$50,000.00
Gerald Huff Fund for Humanity	$40,000.00	$0.00	$40,000.00
Alexander Tamas	$33,000.00	$0.00	$33,000.00

Opposition

The following table includes contribution and expenditure totals for the committees in opposition to the measure.

Committees in opposition to Measure 118
Committee	Cash Contributions	In-Kind Contributions	Total Contributions	Cash Expenditures	Total Expenditures
Defeat the Costly Tax on Sales	$16,526,149.40	$949,803.11	$17,475,952.51	$15,200,571.50	$16,150,374.61
2024 Our Oregon Voter Guide	$1,001,000.00	$20,857.00	$1,021,857.00	$976,995.60	$997,852.60
Mobilize Oregon Voters	$320,000.00	$3,241.15	$323,241.15	$313,456.46	$316,697.61
Advance Liberty	$12,735.00	$0.00	$12,735.00	$16,202.10	$16,202.10
Total	$17,859,884.40	$973,901.26	$18,833,785.66	$16,507,225.66	$17,481,126.92

Donors

The following were the top donors who contributed to the opposition committees.

Donor	Cash Contributions	In-Kind Contributions	Total Contributions
Grocery Retail PAC	$1,875,000.00	$0.00	$1,875,000.00
Standard Insurance	$750,000.00	$693.00	$750,693.00
Oregon Business & Industry Issues PAC	$45,000.00	$664,105.85	$709,105.85
Home Depot	$500,000.00	$0.00	$500,000.00
Our Oregon	$475,000.00	$20,857.00	$495,857.00

Methodology

To read Ballotpedia's methodology for covering ballot measure campaign finance information, click here.

Media editorials

See also: 2024 ballot measure media endorsements

Support

Ballotpedia did not find any media editorials in support of Measure 118.

Opposition

The following media editorial boards published an editorial opposing the ballot measure:

• The Oregonian Editorial Board: "Measure 118 advocates attempt to compare this with an Alaskan program that distributes an annual cash payment to all residents, but this measure is nothing like it. The payments to 600,000-plus Alaskans come from investment earnings off the Alaska Permanent Fund – a now $79 billion fund built primarily from stashing a portion of royalties paid to the state by oil companies over decades – not a gross-receipts tax whose repercussions will reverberate back onto residents. ... The opposition reflects an impressive show of unity from entities across spectrums – politics, geography, membership and mission – all urging Oregonians to vote 'no' on Measure 118. Voters should join them."
• The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board: "There are bad ideas and then there are ideas so lousy that even liberal Democrats disown them. Count in the latter category an Oregon ballot measure that would stick companies with the highest corporate tax burden in the country while pitching it to voters as a "rebate.'"
• The News-Register Editorial Board: "The annual rebate, initially projected at $1,000 to $1,300, is much too small to serve as a minimum guaranteed income safety net. The vast majority of the money would be showered on middle- and upper-income residents with no such need in the first place. It could make Oregon companies less competitive. And through workings much too complicated to explain here, it figures to cut millions from the corporate income tax flow to the state general fund. It’s a half-baked idea that could prove incredibly damaging."
• The East Oregonian Editorial Board: "We don’t doubt the supporters of Ballot Measure 118 have the best of intentions. But Oregon voters this November will need to look past those good intentions and take a hard look at the measure’s unintended consequences."
• The Source Weekly Editorial Board: "The notion of turning corporate profits, from a new corporate sales tax, into checks paid out to needy Oregonians sounds good, but it's a bit too socialist for our taste. It's a bit like robbing Peter to pay Paul; it puts a few-thousand-dollar check into the hands of a working family, but if that comes at the expense of the state being able to adequately fund things like schools — where a host of wraparound services are available to help struggling students — it could have a more negative impact. Vote no on Measure 118."

Background

Oregon laws governing taxes on corporations

As of 2024, state law required corporations to pay either the tax on taxable income or the corporate minimum tax, whichever was higher. The tax on taxable income imposed a corporate income tax on the net income of corporations that did business or had income sourced to Oregon. The corporate income tax was a graduated system with the following rates:

• 6.6% on the first $1 million of taxable income
• 7.6% on taxable income over $1 million

State law defined Oregon taxable income as "taxable income or net loss as defined in Section 63 of the Internal Revenue Code, with the modifications, additions, and subtractions provided in this chapter, and apportionable to this state." Additions meant additional income excluded under the federal definition of taxable income, like interest on state and local bonds. Subtractions meant deductions allowed under state law that are not accounted for in the federal definition of taxable income, such as land donations to educational institutions. S corporations were excluded from paying the corporate income tax but are required to pay the corporate minimum tax.

The corporate minimum tax imposed a tax on a corporation’s sales in the state. The amounts are listed below:

Oregon sales	Minimum tax
Less than $500,000	$150
$500,000-$1 million	$500
$1 million-$2 million	$1,000
$2 million-$3 million	$1,500
$3 million-$5 million	$2,000
$5 million-$7 million	$4,000
$7 million-$10 million	$7,500
$10 million-$25 million	$15,000
$25 million-$50 million	$30,000
$50 million-$75 million	$50,000
$75 million-$100 million	$75,000
$100 million or more	$100,000

As of 2024, Oregon also had a gross receipts sales tax, known as the Corporate Activity Tax (CAT), which imposed a tax on the total revenue generated by a business without deductions for expenses. Businesses with more than $1 million in Oregon gross receipts were subject to the CAT. The CAT imposed a $250 tax on the first $1 million of Oregon gross receipts, plus 0.57% on gross receipts above $1 million.

Oregon corporate income tax revenue, 2019-2023

The Oregon Department of Administrative Services produced an annual comprehensive financial report. The following chart shows the corporate income tax revenue reported by the state from 2019 through 2023. It did not differentiate between the revenue received through the corporate income tax or the corporate minimum tax.

Corporate income taxes by state

As of 2024, 44 states imposed a corporate income tax ranging from a flat rate of 2.5% in North Carolina to a top marginal rate of 9.8% in Minnesota. Four states—Nevada, Ohio, Texas, and Washington—imposed gross receipts taxes instead of corporate income taxes. Three states—Delaware, Oregon, and Tennessee—imposed gross receipts taxes in addition to their corporate income taxes. South Dakota and Wyoming were the only states that levied neither a corporate income nor a gross receipts tax. The table below displays the top marginal corporate tax rate with states that have a graduated system highlighted in orange.

Path to the ballot

See also: Laws governing the initiative process in Oregon

The state process

In Oregon, the number of signatures required to qualify an initiated state statute for the ballot is equal to 6 percent of the votes cast for governor in the most recent gubernatorial election. Signatures for Oregon initiatives must be submitted four months prior to the next regular general election. State law also requires paid signature gatherers to submit any signatures they gather every month.

Moreover, Oregon is one of several states that require a certain number of signatures to accompany an initiative petition application. The signatures of at least 1,000 electors are required to trigger a review by state officials, a period of public commentary, and the drafting of a ballot title. Prior to gathering these initial 1,000 signatures, petitioners must submit the text of the measure, a form disclosing their planned use of paid circulators, and a form designating up to three chief petitioners. The 1,000 preliminary signatures count toward the final total required.

The requirements to get an initiated state statute certified for the 2024 ballot:

• Signatures: 117,173 valid signatures were required.
• Deadline: The deadline to submit signatures was July 5, 2024.

In Oregon, signatures are verified using a random sample method. If a first round of signatures is submitted at least 165 days before an election and contains raw, unverified signatures at least equal to the minimum requirement, but verification shows that not enough of the submitted signatures are valid, additional signatures can be submitted prior to the final deadline.

Details about this initiative

• Initiative #15 was filed on September 6, 2022.
• Initiative #17 was filed on September 19, 2022.
• Initiative #15 was withdrawn on September 23, 2022.
• On March 2, the initiative was cleared for signature gathering.
• As of July 1, the campaign reported collecting 167,547 signatures.
• The campaign submitted 165,426 unverified signatures on July 3, 2024.
• On July 24, the secretary of state reported that the initiative qualified for the ballot. The campaign submitted 122,276 valid signatures.

Sponsors of the measure hired All Circulators are Beautiful, LLC, Ascendant LLC and Portland Clean Air Fund to collect signatures for the petition to qualify this measure for the ballot. A total of $702,676.62 was spent to collect the 117,173 valid signatures required to put this measure before voters, resulting in a total cost per required signature (CPRS) of $6.00.

How to cast a vote

See also: Voting in Oregon

See below to learn more about current voter registration rules, identification requirements, and poll times in Oregon.

How to vote in Oregon

Poll times

Oregon is an all-mail voting state. Each county provides privacy booths that voters can use to mark their ballot. County clerks' offices are open from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. local time on Election Day. Oregon is divided between the Mountain and Pacific time zones.

Registration

Check your voter registration status here.

To register to vote in Oregon, one must be a resident of Oregon, a United States citizen, and at least 16 years old. Voters must be at least 18 years old by the day of the election in order to receive a ballot. Potential voters can register online or by mailing in a voter registration form to your county election office. The deadline to register is 21 days before the election.

Automatic registration

Oregon implemented automatic voter registration in 2016. For more information, click here.

Online registration

See also: Online voter registration

Oregon has implemented an online voter registration system. Residents can register to vote by visiting this website.

Same-day registration

Oregon does not allow same-day voter registration.

Residency requirements

To register to vote in Oregon, you must be a resident of the state.

Verification of citizenship

See also: Laws permitting noncitizens to vote in the United States

Oregon does not require proof of citizenship for voter registration. An individual must attest that they are a U.S. citizen when registering to vote. According to the state's voter registration application, a voter who knowingly falsely registers "can be fined up to $125,000 and/or imprisoned for up to 5 years."

All 49 states with voter registration systems require applicants to declare that they are U.S. citizens in order to register to vote in state and federal elections, under penalty of perjury or other punishment. Seven states — Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, New Hampshire, and Wyoming — have laws requiring verification of citizenship at the time of voter registration, whether in effect or not. In three states — California, Maryland, and Vermont — at least one local jurisdiction allows noncitizens to vote in some local elections. Noncitizens registering to vote in those elections must complete a voter registration application provided by the local jurisdiction and are not eligible to register as state or federal voters.

Verifying your registration

The Oregon Secretary of State’s Office allows residents to check their voter registration status online by visiting this website.

Voter ID requirements

Oregon is an all-mail voting state. When registering to vote, voters must provide their driver's license number or state ID card number. If voters can not provide this information, they can print and sign a online voter registration form and mail it to their county election office to complete their registration.

See also

2024 measures

• 2024 ballot measures
• Taxes on the ballot
• 2024 petition deadlines

Oregon

• Oregon ballot measures
• Oregon initiative laws

News and analysis

• Ballot measure lawsuits
• Ballot measure readability
• Ballot measure polls
• Ballot measure signature costs

External links

• Initiative #15 Full text
• Initiative #17 Full text