Portland’s post-pandemic tax surge tests business resilience

Portland-area businesses have seen a surge in taxes since 2019, with new levies and higher rates across payroll, property, and corporate taxes; 2023 taxes paid by Portland-area businesses rose to about $1.4 billion, up from $781 million in 2019, driven by the Paid Leave Oregon payroll tax (2023), the corporate activity tax (2020), the preschool-for-all funding (2020), parks and library property taxes (2021), and the gross receipts tax (2019). Business leaders warn the growing tax burden hurts Portland’s economy and competitiveness and call for tax simplification and easier land access to encourage investment as Oregon’s economy shows signs of weakness.