Portland’s proposed Fair Share Tax would pair a higher business-license-tax exemption for smaller businesses with steeper CEO pay-gap surcharges on about 405 large corporations, according to The Oregonian/OregonLive. Councilors Mitch Green and Angelita Morillo introduced the plan this week, saying it would shift more of the cost of city services to large companies.
According to OregonLive.com, the proposal would raise Portland’s business-license-tax exemption from $75,000 to $500,000 in annual gross receipts, a change expected to save small businesses an average of $900 a year. That exemption increase would cost the city about $16 million annually, the outlet reports, even as the broader plan is projected to bring in far more revenue overall.
Green and Morillo argue that the proposal would ease the burden on small businesses and working people while asking large corporations that use city services, infrastructure and workers to contribute more, according to the report.
How the Current CEO Tax Works — and How It Would Change
Portland adopted the country’s first local corporate CEO tax in 2016, an effort championed by then-Commissioner Steve Novick, according to OregonLive. In its current form, the tax adds a 10% surcharge when a company’s CEO-to-worker pay ratio is at least 100-to-1, rising to 25% at a ratio of 250-to-1. Since 2017, it has generated an average of about $5 million a year for the city.
The proposed changes would lower the ratio at which surcharges begin and raise the maximum rate. A 25% surcharge would apply at a 50-to-1 ratio, while companies with a CEO-to-worker ratio of 500-to-1 or greater could face a surcharge as high as 500%, the report says. City officials project that the changes would increase annual CEO-tax revenue to nearly 18 times its recent average.
Conflicting Revenue Figures
The revenue figures describe different measures, rather than unexplained competing estimates: OregonLive reports an estimated $88 million annually from the tax changes overall, including an estimated $72 million annually for Portland’s General Fund. The report does not further break down the difference between those amounts.
Putting the General Fund Estimate in Context
The projected $72 million General Fund contribution would equal about 9% of the $806.4 million in General Fund discretionary resources in Portland’s FY 2025-26 adopted budget. The City of Portland says those discretionary resources make up about 10% of the city’s total budget.
Business Community Reaction and a National Comparison
The Portland Metro Chamber, which opposed the city’s original CEO tax back in 2016, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the new proposal, the outlet reported. Portland isn’t alone in experimenting with this kind of levy — San Francisco adopted a similar CEO tax in 2020, following Portland’s lead, as noted by The Oregonian/OregonLive.
Both Green and Morillo are seeking reelection in November 2026 and are identified as Democratic socialists, according to the report. The Fair Share Tax proposal is scheduled for consideration by the Portland City Council Finance and Governance Committee of the Whole on October 8, as reported by The Oregonian/OregonLive, when councilors will get their first formal look at the plan’s details and potential path forward.
