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To contact me, please click here: Rep.BoomerWright@oregonlegislature.gov
 Last Thursday, House and Senate Democrats released a multi-billion dollar tax and spend package for the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT), that proposes a dozen fee increases, tax hikes, and new taxes, at a time Oregonians are struggling to make ends meet. Simply put, this plan asks you to pay billions more for ODOT’s failure and get less. The proposal increases gas taxes by 20 cents (a 50% increase), increases taxes on truckers by nearly 17%, creates a new tax on tires, increases payroll taxes, and more. See a full breakdown below:
- GAS TAX: 50% increase (+$0.20)
- Tie the Gas Tax to inflation
- NEW TIRE TAX: 3%
- CAR SALES TAX: 60% increase ("Vehicle Privilege Tax") (+0.3% = 0.8%)
- NEW CAR SALES TAX: Additional 1% tax ("one-time system use fee")
- CAR REGISTRATION FEE: $66 increase
- CAR TITLE FEE: $90 increase
- PAYROLL TAX: 80% increase (+0.08% = 0.18%)
- WEIGHT-MILE TAX: 16.9% increase to move goods across our state
- NEW AMAZON, UPS, & FEDEX DELIVERY CHARGE
- NEW MANDATORY ROAD USAGE CHARGE (RUC): for Electric Vehicles and Hybrids
- BIKE TAX: $9.50 increase (=$24.50 total)
A recent poll commissioned by House Republicans found that 80% of Oregonians oppose increasing the Gas Tax while 79% of Oregonians favor cutting taxes to make Oregon more affordable.
House Democrats proposed legislation this in March to establish a tax on your tires with HB 3362. A public hearing on the bill made it clear that Oregonians resoundingly reject this tax with over 1,700 written pieces of testimony, or 88% of Oregonians, opposing the Democrats’ tire tax.
Oregonians are frustrated by the rising cost of living and all these new taxes and fees will make it more expensive for families to drop their kids off at school, drive to work, and pick up groceries. ODOT is an agency that has mismanaged tax-payer dollars (including a $1 billion budget blunder), failed to deliver on key infrastructure projects from the 2017 transportation package, and refuses to limit their scope by focusing on the core mission of maintaining and keeping our roads safe.
House Republicans want Oregonians to keep more of what they make and oppose these efforts increase the cost of living.
The proposed Oregon Transportation ReInvestment Package – “TRIP 2025”, is like more like a “psychedelic tax TRIP” for Oregonians. Here is what it really says.
BUYING AND LICENSING A CAR – NOT DRIVING IT YET….
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DMV FEES – Increase Title fees by $90 or around 100%. Current fees range from $90 to $190.
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Increase Vehicle registration FEES - Increase fees by $66. Current vehicle registration fees for gas powered passenger vehicles range from $126-$156. EV’s pay $316 unless they are registered in the OreGo program.
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New Car TAX (also known as the privilege tax passed in 2017 in HB2017 – ironically the last transportation package). Increases the tax applied to new vehicles from 0.5% to 0.8% or a 60%.
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The “New” Car TAX – Which will apply to all new and used cars and be in addition to the privilege tax. It will be a “one time fee of 1% of the vehicle price.
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Tire TAX – Brand new tax that will be 3% for all tires purchased.
ACTUALLY DRIVING
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Weight Mile TAX - Increase it by + 16.9%. These are the fees that trucks pay instead of the fuel tax. Former Senator Boquist and I called for a Special session on this issue in December of 2023 because the weight mile tax was already constitutionally out of balance with the fuel tax.
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Fuel TAX - Raise the current fuel tax of $0.40 per gallon to $0.60 per gallon. The Oregon gas tax was raised last year by 5%. Oregon has the nation’s 10th highest gas tax.
- ***FUTURE FUEL TAX INCREASES WOULD BE INDEXED AND TIED TO INFLATION – NO LEGISLATIVE APPROVAL, NO VOTE, NO INPUT, JUST AUTOMATIC INCREASES***
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Road Usage CHARGE for cars and pickups – pay per mile. Currently this is an optional program for EV vehicles in lieu of higher registration rates. The new program would eventually apply it to ALL vehicles.
- July 2026: Existing EVs
- July 2027: Newly purchased EVs
- July 2028: Plug-In Hybrids
- July 2029: New vehicles rated at 30 MPG or greater (starting with model year 2030).
DON’T DRIVE? – THERE IS A TAX FOR THAT TOO
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Delivery FEE – Businesses with 10 medium duty vehicles (10,000-26,000 pounds – Amazon vans, UPS, Fed Ex, Service providers like Cintas and Aramark, Batteries Northwest, Snap-on Tools, etc.) would be assessed a per mile fee somewhere in between the weight mile rate (which they do not pay today; they pay the gas tax most likely) and the road usage charge.
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Bike TAX increase — Currently the bike tax is $15 this would raise it to $24.9 for all bikes over $200. That is a 63% increase.
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Payroll wage TAX increase - Payroll tax is currently at 0.1%. The increase would take it to 0.18% an 80% increase.
SALEM, Ore. – Today, Oregon House Republicans condemned the passage of two bills out of the House Judiciary Committee that significantly reduce the rights of law-abiding citizens to bear arms, while doing nothing to reduce crime and uphold public safety.
House Bill 3075 makes it harder to lawfully obtain a firearm by increasing the firearm permit provisions in Ballot Measure 114, including adding additional eligibility requirements, fees, and doubling the wait time to issue permits to 60 days.
House Bill 3076 directs the Department of Justice to create a state licensure program, adding additional, unnecessary oversight to an industry that already follows extensive federal regulations, including background checks, ATF licensing, and strict compliance laws.
“These bills are an attack on the constitutional right to bear arms,” said Rep. Drazan (R-Canby). “The only thing these bills do is give is punish law-abiding gun owners and small businesses that are in full compliance with federal law.”
“These bills force additional, expensive regulations on law-abiding citizens that many of them cannot afford,” said Rep. Greg Smith (R-Heppner). “And writing a blank check to the Department of Justice to enforce what’s already codified in federal law is bad policy. Enough is enough.”
“These bills are an absurd attempt to target law-abiding Oregon gunowners,” said Rep. Alek Skarlatos (R-Winston). “They will ban standard size magazines, impose fees on the exercise of a constitutional right, and place prohibitive regulations on every local gunsmith and gun store, forcing these small businesses to close.”
SALEM, Ore. – The University of Oregon Institute for Policy Research & Engagement released a devastating report showing out-of-state businesses are actively recruiting Oregon workers, using tax incentives as “by far the most commonly offered” incentive to leave the state.
“The fact that Oregonians are being enticed to leave our state is an indictment on the tax structure and regulatory environment that is forcing businesses to plan to grow beyond state lines,” said Rep. Christine Drazan (R-Canby). “This report concluded what House Republicans have been saying all along: To strengthen our economy, our state must support businesses by improving incentives and cutting taxes and regulatory burdens.”
The researchers also recommend that the Governor’s office make economic development a more prominent priority, writing, “While we understand the rationale and urgency behind the Governor’s key priorities, we argue that economic development (thought of in terms prosperity for all Oregonians) is deeply linked with the state’s housing affordability and
homelessness crises.”
Researchers surveyed nearly 400 traded sector businesses and conducted more than 30 interviews. The results show:
• 24% of businesses reported being approached by recruiting agencies outside
Oregon.
• 68% of businesses contacted by a recruiting agency reported moving or expanding outside Oregon.
• 60% said external recruitment efforts have increased in the past three years.
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