Guiding Principles for Taxation - The Oregon Catalyst

Guiding Principles for Taxation - The Oregon Catalyst

• Simplicity – The tax code should be easy for the average citizen to understand, and it should minimize the cost of complying with the tax laws.
• Accountability – Tax systems should be accountable to citizens. Changes in tax policy should be highly publicized and open to public debate, not pushed through a legislative session without broad public input.
• Economic Neutrality – The tax system should exert minimal impact on the spending and business decisions of individuals and businesses.
• Equity and Fairness – Fairness means all taxpayers should be treated the same. The government should not use the tax system to pick winners and losers in society, or unfairly to shift the tax burden onto one class of citizens. The tax system should not be used to punish success or to “soak the rich.”
• Competitiveness – A low tax burden can help Oregon’s economic development by retaining and attracting productive business activity. Our revenue system should be responsive to competition from other states.
• Balance – An effective tax system should be broad-based, avoid special exemptions and utilize a low overall tax rate with few loopholes.
• Reliability – A stable tax system is better than an unstable one. Revenue sources that grow faster than the economy in good times, or sink faster in bad times, should be avoided.