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Articles and posts by Curt Kipp

Hoop house relief

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A whole lot of nurseries may soon be breathing a sigh of relief. Earlier this week we talked about the possibility that hoop houses – the unheated, frame-and-plastic enclosures growers use to protect plants and ready them for market – could be assessed on property tax statements as if they were permanent structures. It’s a change […]

Knocked for a hoop

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This spring, the Oregon Department of Revenue (ODR) proposed a rule change that would tax hoop houses as if they were permanent structures – a move that could greatly add to the tax bills of growers who own dozens if not hundreds of the poly-film enclosures. OAN Director of Government Relations Jeff Stone testified before […]

What’s new at the Farwest Show this year

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This year’s Farwest Show, set for Aug. 20-22 in Portland, has several new features designed to keep attendees on the cutting edge of nursery industry knowledge. Among them: Manager’s Circle workshops for owners and top managers; Networking events for young professionals and for women in horticulture; and The new Interactive Learning Center, presented in cooperation […]

‘Rich’ on paper

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How will yesterday’s votes to approve state corporate and personal tax hikes affect small businesses? Sen. Larry George, R-Sherwood, a hazelnut grower, says it won’t be a good thing. “This tax is about one thing. It’s about taxing entrepreneurs,” he said. “This is an incredibly personal bill to me.” Watch his eight-minute floor speech:

Follow the bouncing bills

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There’s been a lot of activity in Salem this week as Oregon legislators attempt to finish the session. Many of the bills flying hither, thither and yon could affect the nursery industry in a big way, from tax hikes to metal theft to property tax issues affecting hoop houses. If you want to track it […]

Tax hikes approved – for real

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That didn’t take long. The legislative logjam we talked about this morning has been broken. The Oregon Senate this morning approved two bills – one to raise corporate taxes and another to raise income taxes. Both were carried on a party line vote, 18 yes (all Democrats), 11 no (all Republicans) and one Republican not […]

Metal health

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The metal theft bill we talked about yesterday, Senate Bill 570 (HTML|PDF), has been approved by the Oregon House of Representatives by unanimous vote, 60-0. Since the House version differed from the earlier Senate version, it moves back to the Senate for concurrence and then the governor’s signature. Here’s more on the bill from one […]

Tax hikes approved – NOT

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Yesterday we told you about increases in state corporate and personal income taxes, which seemed all but assured. Not so fast. The Oregon Senate yesterday failed to muster the two-thirds majority needed to raise taxes. Sen. Mark Hass (D-Beaverton) broke party ranks with his 17 fellow Senate Democrats by voting against one of the bills, […]