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Metro filed its response to a ballot title challenge brought by opponents of the regional government's multibillion-dollar tax measure.
The ballot title challenge, which opponents filed in Multnomah County Circuit Court earlier this month, focused on how Metro describes the revenue-raising mechanism, which is a 0.75% tax on payrolls of private employers with 25 or more employees.
Opponents, which include major employers such as Intel and Nike, as well as manhy of the region's business associations, say the funding mechanism of the transportation measure is a payroll tax and that the ballot language should call it one, rather than referring to it as a "business tax."
Related: Opponents of Metro's Multibillion-Dollar Transportation Measure File Ballot Title Challenge
In its Aug. 17 response, Metro rejected that argument.
“This Court should defer to the ballot title language prepared by the Metro Attorney and should certify Metro’s ballot title without change because the title is sufficient, concise and fair,” Metro said.
“The use of the term business tax is fair and avoids the confusion created by the use of the term payroll tax,” Metro added. “The ballot title’s description of the business tax is sufficient and complies with state law and the Metro Code.”
The skirmish before Judge Steffan Alexander is unsurprising given the high stakes of the measure: Before last-minute exemptions for local government employers were added, Metro projected the tax would raise more than $7 billion, including federal matching funds for the Southwest Corridor MAX line.
Metro spent 18 months putting together a transportation package aimed at easing congestion and increasing safety across 13 different transportation corridors in the city. After the COVID-19 pandemic took hold, business groups, including the Portland Business Alliance and Oregon Business & Industry, which typically encourage transportation spending because their members benefit from it, urged Metro to pause, but Metro President Lynn Peterson is determined to move forward with a November measure.
Judge Alexander will hold a virtual hearing on the ballot title challenge Aug. 20 at 10 am.
