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This week, as the citizens of Oregon go to the polls to vote on two ballot measures attempting to dramatically increase taxes upon the state’s only revenue generators (private employers) and upon its hard working families, Reason magazine brings to light, in an informative article titled ‘More Than Zero’, the driving force behind the state legislature’s pursuit to redistribute wealth.

The intentionally obfuscated purpose for trying to raise taxes under the guise of “won’t someone think of the children” is fully exposed in the following statement from this Reason article:

Wherever you see a politician or public servant warning about “draconian” cuts to public services, you almost certainly are witnessing an agency whose employees have negotiated a sweetheart pension deal within the last decade.

As Reason thoroughly details, public-sector unions are “are brazenly gobbling up two, three, and even 20 times the amount that they were taking just a few years ago—on guaranteed contributions to their pension plans alone”.  However, advocates of the two tax increasing measures in Oregon claim that the reason for raising taxes during these challenging economic times is to ‘protect schools, health care, and public safety’.

Never mind the fact that sponsors of these measures fail to identify specific solutions that will be achieved through these tax increases.  They also won’t admit that the state’s bloated Public Employee Retirement Systems (PERS) pension obligations are the real reason for extracting more assets from its revenue-producing businesses and its struggling families.

I encourage you to take a few minutes to read this eye-opening Reason article:  More Than Zero.

This month, in the midst of our great nation’s most challenging economic times, the state of Oregon is attempting to dramatically INCREASE income taxes on both its citizens and its revenue generators.  Here is an open letter sent to all employees at EngineWorks that identifies the potential impact of this ill-conceived ballot measure:

Attn: Team EngineWorks

This e-mail is to encourage you to choose to exercise your right to vote on Oregon Ballot Measure 66 taking place on January 26, 2010.

Oregon Measure 66 will increase the amount of money forcibly extracted by the State from hard-working individuals such as our team members at EngineWorks.  Currently, the Government withholds your Federal income tax, Oregon state income tax, Social Security Tax, Medicare tax, and Workers Benefit Assessment tax from your paycheck every month.

Currently, Oregon’s personal income tax ranks the HIGHEST among ALL STATES levying an individual income tax.  Oregon’s 2006 individual income tax collections were $1,513 per person, which ranks 5th highest nationally.

In 2009, the average American worked more than four (4) months to earn enough money to pay their taxes.  Since all of this pay is given to someone who did not earn it, you are in essence being forced to work with no personal gain for more than a third of the year.

Even if none of our team members is currently in the tax bracket targeted in Oregon Measure 66, don’t you hope someday you will be?  (I hope this for all of our team members.)  At that time, I am confident you will desire to keep more of what you earn (as you should now).

Additionally, in today’s mobile economy, individuals, small businesses, and top-producing corporations have the ability to relocate to states and countries that offer the most favorable business conditions.

Measure 66, by INCREASING the HIGHEST state income tax rate in the county, will retard the performance of our state, and ultimately hurt Oregon families and companies.

Therefore, I once again encourage you to choose to vote on Oregon Measure 67.

Thanks.

(Source:  http://www.taxfoundation.org/research/topic/52.html)

“The hardest thing in the world to understand is the income tax.” – Albert Einstein, physicist

– Sean

_______________________________________
Sean J. McMahon
President
sean@engineworks.com