Seen a Rogue on the loose? Get in touch with our Roguemeister: JOHN SCHRAG jschrag@wweek.com (503) 243-2122 FAX: (503) 243-1115 If history is written by the victors, Bill Sizemore is already thinking like a winner. Problem is, in his Roguish rewrite he missed some important details--such as, what actually happened. In a recent press release about his ballot initiative to allow Oregonians to deduct federal taxes paid from state taxes owed, the director of Oregon Taxpayers United slipped in a surprising bit of history. "Oregonians have voted three times over the years to make federal taxes fully deductible on state tax returns," Sizemore wrote. "All three times, legislators have overruled the voters and limited the federal tax deduction." It's a good line, one that makes it sound as if his measure is part of a grand grassroots tradition that's been thwarted by evil politicians. Problem is, it's not true. What really happened is that three times lawmakers have tried to reduce federal tax deductions--thereby increasing state coffers. The Legislature tried in 1959. In 1973, then-Gov. Tom McCall tried. Then, that same year, the Legislature tried again. All three times the voters gave it a thumbs down, saying no to increased taxes. In 1973, the Legislature settled for a $3,000 limit on deductions. (Lawmakers, not voters, subsequently adjusted the deductible up to $7,000 per year, then pushed it back to $3,000.) In short, although voters have stymied efforts to reduce the federal tax deduction, they've never tried to increase it. Becky Miller of OTU says comparing the facts to Sizemore's press release amounts to nitpicking. "It's a semantic issue," she says. "I'm not going to argue with you about it." - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Willamette Week | originally published February 9, 2000