2018 Measure 104 Amends Constitution:

Expands (beyond taxes) application of requirement that three-fifths legislative majority approve bills raising revenue

If It Looks Like A Tax…..

In 1 Samuel 8, an oppressive ruler is characterized as one who would tax the people at a rate of 10%. Currently, government takes about 45% of our productive labor. The average citizen works nearly half of his week just to pay for taxes, both seen and unseen.

Why do most households today require two wage-earners? Why can’t most of us afford private schools for our children and grandchildren, more in keeping with our values? Why do Americans have so much debt, which tends to reduce our liberty? Too high a tax burden is surely one of the most significant reasons.

 Proverbs 30:15, 16 The horseleach hath two daughters, crying, Give, give. There are three things that are never satisfied, yea, four things say not, It is enough: The grave; and the barren womb; the earth that is not filled with water; and the fire that saith not, It is enough.

Let’s add a fifth example to the list – liberal politicians.

Someone once said that the art of taxation is to get as many feathers off the chicken as possible with he least amount of squawking. One of the major struggles in politics is between lawmakers who want more and more money, and voters, who want to pay less and less. Tax receipts have never been higher, but it’s just not enough, we are told. Money is the lifeblood of government, and the more it gets, the more control it will exercise. It’s a double whammy – we have less money and more government control. Less money means less liberty.

In 1996, voters approved a ballot measure requiring a three-fifths supermajority vote in both House and Senate to raise taxes in Oregon. It was not a close vote. Since then, state legislators and the Oregon Supreme Court have found creative ways around the restriction. Votes to remove tax deductions are called revenue increases, not tax increases. That way, they can be passed by a simple majority vote. Just this year, federal tax changes were passed, resulting in one billion dollars in tax savings for 250,000 small businesses in Oregon. But by a simple majority vote, Oregon’s liberals kept this money as state revenue.

Measure 104 fixes the ambiguity, mandating that any increase in state revenue requires a supermajority vote. And it’s a Constitutional amendment, meaning it could only be altered by a vote of the people. We urge your Yes vote on Measure 104.