Yes on Measure 97 Campaign Ads Slamming Comcast Can't Run on Comcast

Measure 97, the proposed $3 billion corporate tax increase, is generating an avalanche of television advertising that won't let up until election day.

The businesses who oppose the measure, which would levy a 2.5 percent tax on the Oregon sales above $25 million recorded by C corporations, have raised nearly $17 million so far and that has will continue to produce a slew of ads like the one below aimed at convincing voters to say "No."

Backers of the tax, who have reported raising just under $7 million so far, are also filling the airwaves with ads of their own.

But say they are having trouble communicating their message—especially as it regards Comcast, the cable television and internet service provider that has contributed $465,000 to the "No on 97" campaign so far.

Although there is no publicly available list of the C corporations who would pay the tax increase Measure 97 proposes, Comcast, with hundreds of thousands of Oregon customers is likely to be one of them.

The non-partisan Legislative Revenue Office found that based on the most recent available tax information, fewer than 1,000 of the more than 400,000 companies doing business in Oregon would pay the tax. The vast majority of payers would be, like Comcast, which is headquartered in Philadelphia, out-of-state corporations.

KGW (Channel 8) reported on Friday that Comcast declined to air the "Yes on 97" campaign's ads that singled Comcast out for criticism. The campaign then changed the voice-over and graphics in the ads so the focus on other large corporations such as Monsanto and Wells Fargo—but not Comcast.

Here's the story reported by KGW's Pat Dorris:

Here's one of the ads that had to have Comcast's name edited out of it before it could run on Comcast:

Willamette Week