Measure 118 Opponents are Spending $15 Million to Mislead & Trick Oregonians
In ads paid for by corporations impacted by the measure, the opposition campaign uses lies and scare tactics to shield its donors
PORTLAND – With just three weeks until Election Day, the opposition to Measure 118 is spending over $15 million in corporate and dark money to blitz Oregon voters with misinformation.
“Corporations and their lackeys think they can outsmart Oregonians and will lie and cheat their way out of paying their fair share,” said Antonio Gisbert, chief petitioner for the Oregon Rebate. “Don’t be fooled. These corporations see Oregon customers and workers as pawns to pad their record profits – they do not care about us. If they did, they wouldn’t have been price-gouging us already.”
Lie #1: “Small business will be impacted”
Oregonians across the state will see a “small organic food grower” represent the opposition in a TV ad that wildly misrepresents the impact of Measure 118 on small businesses, including the owner’s business Live Local Organic.
Fact: Small businesses will not be impacted by Measure 118 because small businesses do not earn $25 million a year, which is the amount of Oregon revenue where the measure’s updated 3% minimum tax starts kicking in. 98% of all the S- and C- corporations operating in Oregon will not be taxed, but all of their customers and employees get a $1,600 a year raise, stimulating local economies and businesses.
Fun fact: Kroger, Walmart, Wells Fargo and other S&P 500 “small businesses” funding the majority of these ads declined to star as victims on camera.
Lie #2: “No exemptions”
In the same ad, the small organic food grower claims there are “no exemptions” to the corporate tax increase under Measure 118. What he declines to mention is that his own company, with all of five employees listed on LinkedIn, is all but certain to be exempted from Measure 118’s corporate tax increase which only takes effect after $25 million of in-state revenue.
Fact: The $1,600 annual rebate is paid for by increasing the corporate revenue tax rate by 3% only on businesses after making more than $25 million a year. This means the first $25 million in revenue will stay at the current rate and every dollar over that amount will be taxed three more pennies.
Fun Fact: This particular small organic food grower received state and federal government grant money, including the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP), and assistance from the Oregon Energy Trust, despite advocating against everyday Oregonians receiving similar assistance.
Lie #3: “Compounding taxes will lead to crazy high inflation”
In a print ad mailed directly to voters and paid for in part by Kroger, who owns Fred Meyer and reported a 2023 profit of over $33 billion dollars, opponents inaccurately claim a tax increase on french fries at each step of the supply chain. Other ads paid for by the Tax Foundation claim a 12% price hike, without citing any source, in an effort to scare voters.
Fact: In reality, the potato is likely moving through small or out-of-state farms, distributors, and wholesalers that are not impacted by Measure 118. Page 17 of the Oregon Legislative Revenue Office’s report in July 2024 on the impacts of Measure 118 predicts an average price increase of 0.26% increase each year.
Fun fact: A single Oregonian would have to spend $615,384 a year on local goods for a 0.26% price increase to equal their $1,600 annual rebate amount.
“These dirty tactics aren’t new,” continued Gisbert. “If anything, Defeat the Costly Tax on Sales is a retread from the 2016 playbook against Measure 97 and funded by some of the very same corporations, including Kroger, Walmart, and Wells Fargo, who are admitted price gougers, union busters, and predatory lenders. Corporations think they can get away with economic murder on working-class Oregonians, but Oregonians are prepared to hold them accountable.”
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