The check is in the mail!

Oregon Update, September 4, 2007, Senate Republican Leader, Ted Ferioli

The certified smart people at the Office of Economic Analysis have good news for Oregonians: a record kicker return will be waiting in your mailbox later this year.

A total of $1.07 billion is being sent back to taxpayers, with the average check expected to be $612. You can read a detailed summary of the September Revenue Forecast here.

Oregon’s “kicker” law takes unexpected tax collections and - instead of leaving them available to spend - puts them back in taxpayers pockets.

“The real beauty of Oregon’s voter-mandated kicker law is that it controls government spending,” said Senator Ted Ferrioli. “It is the only safeguard taxpayers have against government spending every penny that comes in the door during good economic times. And an extra $600 right before Christmas doesn’t hurt either!”

Kicker checks will amount to 18.6% of your pre-credit tax liability. You can use the online kicker calculator, or multiply the amount on line 29 of your 2006 Oregon Income Tax Return (Form 40) x .186.

Not everyone is excited about the news that taxpayers are getting record refunds. The newly appointed chair of the Senate Revenue Committee was critical of checks in an article that appeared in The Oregonian on Saturday. Senator Ginny Burdick (D-Portland) called Oregon’s kicker “really dumb tax policy.”

Despite a 20 percent increase in state spending this budget cycle, and the fact that she and other legislators diverted $975 million in refunds owed to Oregon employers to a Rainy Day Fund, Burdick doesn’t seem to respect the voters who put the law in the Oregon Constitution.