Salem-News.com News Feed for articles tagged with taxes www.salem-news.com 2013 Unemployment tax rates for most Oregon employers will remain stable in 2017. Tax rates will remain at schedule 4 for employers that pay into the system. Tax Schedule 4 includes an average rate of 2.26% for the first $38,400 paid to each employee. The specific rate each employer will pay under the new schedule depends on how much they have used the unemployment insurance system. http://salem-news.com/articles/november162016/oregon-unemployment-tax-rates.php http://salem-news.com/articles/november162016/oregon-unemployment-tax-rates.php Wed, 16 Nov 2016 14:01:00 PST After more than five hours of debate, the Oregon House of Representatives passed SB 324, legislation that lifts the 2015 sunset on Oregon’s Clean Fuels Program, which reduces the carbon intensity of fuels by 10% over 10 years. “For nearly six years, extending the Clean Fuels Program has been the top priority for Oregon’s environmental community. http://salem-news.com/articles/march062015/oregon-sb324-olcv.php http://salem-news.com/articles/march062015/oregon-sb324-olcv.php Fri, 06 Mar 2015 15:19:00 PST Keeping Salem's more than 10,550 streetlights operating has squeezed funding for road repairs. What's the crux of the problem? Streetlights and road repairs in Salem both depend on a shrinking pool of gasoline tax revenues. Money for basic road pavement maintenance has largely evaporated. http://salem-news.com/articles/january252015/salem-street-lights.php http://salem-news.com/articles/january252015/salem-street-lights.php Sun, 25 Jan 2015 23:55:00 PST Small business owners are often perceived as anti-tax, anti-government programs and regulations, and against initiatives like healthcare reform. Today, Main Street Alliance of Oregon leaders met with Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici to release their most recent report, The State of Main Street. This report challenges conventional perceptions of small business owners’ thoughts on key policy issues. It details responding business owners’ views on key issues facing Oregon and the nation. http://salem-news.com/articles/october272014/oregon-small-business.php http://salem-news.com/articles/october272014/oregon-small-business.php Mon, 27 Oct 2014 11:45:00 PDT Today, the Obama Administration released the third U.S. National Climate Assessment—the most comprehensive scientific assessment ever generated of climate change and its impacts across every region of America and major sectors of the U.S. economy. The findings in this National Climate Assessment underscore the need for urgent action to combat the threats from climate change, protect American citizens and communities today, and build a sustainable future for our kids and grandkids. http://salem-news.com/articles/may062014/or-impact.php http://salem-news.com/articles/may062014/or-impact.php Tue, 06 May 2014 20:18:00 PDT Oregonians have one week left to apply for health insurance through Cover Oregon to avoid a potential federal tax penalty for not having health insurance. Applications must be submitted to Cover Oregon with a postmark no later than Wednesday, April 30. http://salem-news.com/articles/april232014/cover-oregon.php http://salem-news.com/articles/april232014/cover-oregon.php Wed, 23 Apr 2014 12:29:00 PDT You’ve heard me say it before: The Supreme Court’s recent decision in McCutcheon v. FEC is another crack in the dam standing between us and unlimited political spending. The decision eliminates the restrictions on how many campaigns wealthy donors can seek to influence. And let me tell you – it’s a step in the wrong direction. http://salem-news.com/articles/april172014/wyden-mccutcheon.php http://salem-news.com/articles/april172014/wyden-mccutcheon.php Thu, 17 Apr 2014 16:44:00 PDT The deadline to file your taxes is here, and now most Americans play the waiting game, eagerly checking the mailbox every day for that nice fat refund check. There are two primary schools of thought on what to do with a tax refund. The first says to use the money wisely. For example: make an extra mortgage payment, pay off a high interest rate credit card, put it into your retirement account, fix up the house, use it as a down payment on a new car, pay down your school loans and more. http://salem-news.com/articles/april152014/invest-yourself-pbd.php http://salem-news.com/articles/april152014/invest-yourself-pbd.php Tue, 15 Apr 2014 13:09:00 PDT By now you’ve probably heard the news: the Supreme Court ruled yet again in support of the deep-pocketed political spenders. The decision is McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission. Think of it like a sequel to the Citizens United decision. The result: new opportunities for wealthy donors to influence political campaigns. http://salem-news.com/articles/april132014/mccutcheon-wyden.php http://salem-news.com/articles/april132014/mccutcheon-wyden.php Sun, 13 Apr 2014 17:47:00 PDT April 15th, Tax Day, our nation funds our national budget. On this day we fund the nation’s business and provide a proclamation to the world of the U.S. priorities for the next year. Ultimately, because they reveal our choices, budgets are moral documents and are supposed to represent the people’s priorities. What are those priorities? Surveys show them to be education, economic security, environmental protection, healthcare, climate change, peace and security. http://salem-news.com/articles/april102014/budgets-morals-rd.php http://salem-news.com/articles/april102014/budgets-morals-rd.php Thu, 10 Apr 2014 13:47:00 PDT Citizen activists took to the streets of Salem yesterday in protest of the Supreme Court decision in the McCutcheon case. They say this recent decision tosses corporate integrity back into the dark ages. http://salem-news.com/articles/april082014/mccutcheon-protest-tk.php http://salem-news.com/articles/april082014/mccutcheon-protest-tk.php Tue, 08 Apr 2014 15:27:00 PDT Within the past two months, several major environmental disasters have exposed the failure of state regulators, who serve the corporations they “regulate” as their clients, to protect the lives and health of the public. In most cases, state regulators are executive branch agencies reporting to governors and subject to oversight by state legislatures. http://salem-news.com/articles/april052014/environmental-waste-mm.php http://salem-news.com/articles/april052014/environmental-waste-mm.php Sat, 05 Apr 2014 17:25:00 PDT The Patient Protection Act and the Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare) seems to be working. Admittedly, this is not a universal view. But as of the March 31st deadline, it appears that the goal of 7 million signees may have been reached. This is quite an achievement considering the computer glitches encountered by consumers along the way. http://salem-news.com/articles/april012014/mccaran-ferguson-rs.php http://salem-news.com/articles/april012014/mccaran-ferguson-rs.php Tue, 01 Apr 2014 15:32:00 PDT Polk County Sheriff Bob Wolfe announced additional reductions in patrol hours from 20 hours a day to 10 hours a day due to budget and staffing reductions. "My overtime budget is less than 6% for the remainder of this budget cycle which ends in June and I have received notification from another deputy who has accepted a conditional job offer making this the fourth deputy to leave in the last two months" stated Sheriff Bob Wolfe. http://salem-news.com/articles/march262014/polk-reductions.php http://salem-news.com/articles/march262014/polk-reductions.php Wed, 26 Mar 2014 11:08:00 PDT Both current participants that need to recertify their eligibility this year and new applicants for the programs have until April 15 to file the necessary paperwork, according to program manager Bronson Rueda. "Eligible Oregonians who want their property taxes paid in November must meet the April 15 filing deadline," Rueda said. "If we don't get their forms by April 15, we can't pay their property taxes this year." http://salem-news.com/articles/march202014/disabled-seniors-taxes.php http://salem-news.com/articles/march202014/disabled-seniors-taxes.php Thu, 20 Mar 2014 01:05:00 PDT The federal government has been cutting domestic programs for all US citizens such as Head Start, Food Stamps, aid to education, scientific research, the national parks program, claiming we cannot afford it, but just agreed to transfer another 429 million to Israel to further develop the Iron Dome missile system. The money is to be transferred immediately, represents the tip of the iceberg. http://salem-news.com/articles/march132014/oregon-drones-jc.php http://salem-news.com/articles/march132014/oregon-drones-jc.php Thu, 13 Mar 2014 10:11:00 PDT I received a letter from the President, on White House Stationery - seriously. It was headlined "Have You Still Got My Back?" It consisted of three pages about why the two of us should be proud of what we've accomplished since 2008, while Page 4 simply gave me the option of sending a check, a money order or my favorite credit card numbers... http://salem-news.com/articles/march112014/obama-ba.php http://salem-news.com/articles/march112014/obama-ba.php Tue, 11 Mar 2014 00:36:00 PDT Chief petitioners for Initiative Petitions 1 and 9—the anti-worker initiatives—as well as the chief petitioners for several revenue-raising initiatives, have formally withdraw their proposed initiatives, keeping them off the 2014 ballot. Since last year, the Governor has talked about wanting to keep these initiatives off the ballot so that he could continue his revenue reform efforts. http://salem-news.com/articles/march032014/koch-measures.php http://salem-news.com/articles/march032014/koch-measures.php Mon, 03 Mar 2014 20:05:00 PST Total construction spending in January posted the steepest year-over-year increase since 2006. The industry saw growth in public construction as well as private residential and nonresidential spending... http://salem-news.com/articles/march032014/const-spnding.php http://salem-news.com/articles/march032014/const-spnding.php Mon, 03 Mar 2014 11:45:00 PST On February 26th, the President will speak at the historic Union Depot train station in Saint Paul, Minnesota. He will launch a competition for $600 million in competitive transportation funding and outline his vision for investing in America’s infrastructure... http://salem-news.com/articles/february262014/obama-transportation.php http://salem-news.com/articles/february262014/obama-transportation.php Wed, 26 Feb 2014 12:42:00 PST Official estimates expected about $70 million in tax revenue from marijuana sales annually in Colorado. But after seven weeks of sales government officials now believe revenues will be closer to $98 million. http://salem-news.com/articles/february202014/colo-pot-taxes.php http://salem-news.com/articles/february202014/colo-pot-taxes.php Thu, 20 Feb 2014 15:41:00 PST Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) today released, "Private Prisons: A Bastion of Secrecy," a report calling for increased transparency by authorizing public access to documents that would shed light on private prison operations and their costs. Experts say the report could reveal the extent to which they deprive prisoners of basic civil liberties. http://salem-news.com/articles/february192014/private-prisons.php http://salem-news.com/articles/february192014/private-prisons.php Wed, 19 Feb 2014 12:18:00 PST The mental health system in America is in terrible shape, and unless something is done to fix the problem it’s going to get a lot worse. School shootings, gunmen in malls, “suicide by cop,” and other violent acts continue to dominate the headlines and the news cycle with no end in sight. http://salem-news.com/articles/february182014/mental-health-pm.php http://salem-news.com/articles/february182014/mental-health-pm.php Tue, 18 Feb 2014 13:26:00 PST Did you know the Port of Portland is offering to pay a Korean shipping line up to $4M to continue container service? Last year, it gave them $1M and in 2012 $175,000. Last year, it gave the Philippines company $3.4M to, as the ILWU charges “mismanage” the port. http://salem-news.com/articles/february092014/port-welfare-mm.php http://salem-news.com/articles/february092014/port-welfare-mm.php Sun, 09 Feb 2014 13:44:00 PST While the jingle-jingle of Christmas Bells has since subsided, gargantuan greenbacks are still very much in circulation. Recent news headlines have alerted us that more than half of the US Senate has now reached the "millionaire bracket". Why all the racket? "Income Equality" as a frontline issue did not begin with the Obama Administration nor with Lyndon Johnson's clarion call to declare a War on Poverty. Nor did so-called "class war" start with Karl Marx. http://salem-news.com/articles/january162014/income-equality-blc.php http://salem-news.com/articles/january162014/income-equality-blc.php Thu, 16 Jan 2014 13:25:00 PST Oregon Capitol Watch’s Executive Director and former State Representative Jeff Kropf is pleased to announce Petunia, the Pork Detective’s latest Porker Award goes to Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber for his “go it alone” proposal in building the wasteful, Columbia River Crossing boondoggle. Oregon Capitol Watch is running statewide television commercials starting today announcing this prestigious award to the Governor, along with a social media campaign, in an effort to educate the public about this issue. http://salem-news.com/articles/january142014/petunia-kitzhaber.php http://salem-news.com/articles/january142014/petunia-kitzhaber.php Tue, 14 Jan 2014 17:38:00 PST Last year, San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón, San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera, and San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi made statements on the importance of adequate funding for the California courts. Why? Because the California state court system -- the largest in the world - is in crisis. http://salem-news.com/articles/january052014/cal-courts-rs.php http://salem-news.com/articles/january052014/cal-courts-rs.php Sun, 05 Jan 2014 09:32:00 PST As calls for a higher minimum wage grow louder around the country, Oregon's wage floor is quietly set to rise by 15 cents at the start of the new year. The increase will add $312 to the yearly income of a full-time minimum wage worker. "While the uptick in Oregon's minimum wage is welcome, it still leaves too many working families unable to meet basic needs," said Jason Gettel, policy analyst with the Oregon Center for Public Policy. "An even higher wage floor would be good for workers and our state." http://salem-news.com/articles/december272013/minimum-wage.php http://salem-news.com/articles/december272013/minimum-wage.php Fri, 27 Dec 2013 14:52:00 PST Statewide, an estimated 136,000 Oregonians have enrolled in health insurance coverage starting Jan. 1, 2014. Of that total, an estimated 36,000 Oregonians enrolled through Cover Oregon: more than 12,000 in private plans and more than 24,000 in the Oregon Health Plan. The rest are being enrolled in the Oregon Health Plan through the fast-track option. To date, Cover Oregon has determined approximately 70,000 Oregonians eligible for health coverage starting Jan. 1 through private plans or the Oregon Health Plan. http://salem-news.com/articles/december242013/cover-oregon.php http://salem-news.com/articles/december242013/cover-oregon.php Tue, 24 Dec 2013 13:06:00 PST The first Oregonians to complete applications have a little more time to enroll in a private health plan through Cover Oregon effective Jan. 1, 2014. These consumers now have until Dec. 27 at 5:00 p.m. to choose a health plan and notify Cover Oregon of their selections, under an agreement reached late today with insurance carriers. http://salem-news.com/articles/december132013/cover-oregon.php http://salem-news.com/articles/december132013/cover-oregon.php Fri, 13 Dec 2013 22:33:00 PST