New Portland Tax on Large Retailers Appears Headed for City’s November Ballot

Supporters of Portland Clean Energy Fund turn in 60,000 signatures, 25,000 more that required to make the ballot.

Target checkout (Nate Grigg)

Supporters of the Portland Clean Energy Fund today turned in 60,000 signatures, well above the 34,156 valid signatures required to qualify a proposed tax on large retailers for the November ballot.

If enough of the signatures are valid, Portland voters will decide whether they want to place a one percent tax on the Portland sales of retailers with sales of more than $500,000 in the city and more than $1 billion nationwide. (Groceries and medicines would be exempt.)

Among those likely to have to pay the tax if the measure passes are some obvious companies such as Walmart, Target, Home Depot, Apple and Comcast, and some that might not be so obvious, such as the outdoor retailer REI.

Proponents of the tax say it would raise about $30 million a year. The money would be spent on clean energy projects and job training for minority and under-served populations.

The campaign for Portland's so-called "Clean Energy Fund" list more than 100 groups who have endorsed their measure. Individuals representing many of those groups rallied at City Hall today to turn their signatures in.

"Like many places in the United States, Multnomah County and the City of Portland have made a commitment to 100 percent renewable energy," said Tony DeFalco, Executive Director of Verde, which builds environmental wealth in communities. "The Portland Clean Energy Fund is absolutely essential to reaching that goal and giving a boost to communities who have been harmed by the fossil fuel economy and left out of the current economic boom."

Rick Thomas, a spokesman for opponents of the proposed tax, the Keep Portland Affordable Committee, said taxing the big retailers is bad policy.

"With Portland becoming unaffordable for so many, we should be focused on higher priorities like solving our housing and homeless crisis," Thomas said in a statement. "This new tax on sales is just going to be passed on to families in the form of higher prices on everyday essential items. We all agree that more must be done to address climate change, but making it harder to live here isn't the right answer."

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