Dave Dahl Faces Killer Tax Bill

He’s contesting the assessed value of his downtown condo.

dahlbread Dave Dahl rose to fame for loaves he first sold at the Portland Farmer’s Market at Portland State University.
By Nigel Jaquiss

One of the state’s most prominent food entrepreneurs is fighting the tax man.

Although the residential housing market in Portland and surrounding cities remains strong, Dave Dahl, who made his fortune founding Dave’s Killer Bread, is finding that such strength does not extend to the tip-top of the market, specifically the 27th-floor condo he owns at the Benson Tower in Southwest Portland.

Records show Dahl paid $3.065 million for the 2,920-square-foot penthouse in December 2017. He challenged the Multnomah County tax assessor’s valuation of $2.55 million for 2023-24 but lost at the county’s Board of Property Tax Appeals.

Dahl appealed that decision April 15 in Oregon Tax Court. “The court should find that the total real market value of the subject property as of Jan. 1, 2023, is no more than $1.8 million,” says the complaint, filed by Dahl’s attorney Alex Robinson.

Dahl’s tax bill for the year: $46,854. A current listing shows he’s asking $2.2 million for the penthouse.

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