Portland committee moves Fair Share tax proposal to Oct. 15

Portland’s Finance and Governance Committee of the Whole continued proposed ordinance 2026-348 to its Oct. 15 meeting on Oct. 8. The action keeps the Fair Share business-tax proposal under committee consideration; it did not approve the tax or send it to a full City Council vote.

The measure remains a proposal. The continuation itself does not change any business’s tax liability. If adopted, the changes would require further council action and amendments to city code.

Proposed relief and higher surtax

The proposal would raise the gross-receipts exemption for Portland’s Business License Tax to $500,000 and increase the existing Pay Ratio Surtax for businesses with large gaps between CEO and worker pay. The city impact statement estimates that about 18,000 businesses would receive tax relief, while about 410 would face higher surtax payments.

Those figures are projections about how businesses could be affected if the changes take effect, not a count of businesses that have already received relief or paid a higher surtax. The proposed exemption and surtax changes would apply to businesses covered by Portland’s tax.

City estimates differ

The Portland Revenue Division estimates the higher surtax would bring in $88 million more annually, while the proposed small-business relief would reduce revenue by $16 million. Together, those figures produce an estimated net increase of about $72 million a year, based on fiscal 2025 collections.

A separate preliminary forecast from the city economist estimates an average net General Fund gain of $33.4 million annually across fiscal years 2030, 2031 and 2032. That forecast adjusts for revenue volatility, so it is not interchangeable with the Revenue Division’s estimate based on fiscal 2025 collections. The two figures present different views of the proposal’s potential revenue, rather than a single settled forecast.

Axios reported that Prosper Portland raised concerns that businesses might pass higher costs to consumers, reduce jobs or investment, or reconsider doing business in the city. Those are potential effects raised in the reporting, not established outcomes of the proposal.

The city’s ordinance record lists the proposal for the Finance and Governance Committee of the Whole’s Oct. 15 meeting. It does not list that date as a full-council vote.