January 13, 2026

Members of the Working Families Caucus Call on the Oregon Legislature to Protect Working Families, Rein In Trump’s Excessive Tax Giveaways for Corporations and the Ultra-Wealthy

SALEM, ORE. — On Tuesday, members of the Working Families Caucus called on their colleagues in the Oregon Legislature to protect working families by preventing cuts to programs that make Oregon more affordable for the people who power the state. The Working Families Caucus supports a revenue proposal that would allow the Legislature to recover more than $700 million in the current budget period for Oregon families by rejecting the Trump tax giveaways and other giveaways that disproportionately benefit mega-corporations and the ultra-wealthy. The proposal would protect funding for schools, health care, housing supports, childcare and other programs that help families afford basic costs.

Oregon is one of only three states that automatically conforms to so much of the federal tax code through a rolling “automatic” connection to federal taxable income. As a result, President Donald Trump’s costly tax giveaways to the ultra-wealthy will hit Oregon especially hard. Those giveaways, which were created, expanded, and extended as part of President Trump and Congressional Republicans’ HR 1 bill, are projected to cost Oregon $900 million in revenue during the 2025–27 biennium alone.

“Oregonians across the state have set the standard for how to resist the Trump administration’s cruel attacks on our communities,” said Oregon Senate President Pro Tempore Sen. James Manning (SD-7). “This session, my colleagues and I have a critical opportunity to step up and reject the federal administration’s economic warfare against working families, who are already struggling to put food on the table and keep the lights on as prices soar. By reining in the administration’s giveaways to the ultra-wealthy and making prudent policy choices, we can prevent cuts to critical services and make life more affordable for working families. We must meet this moment.”

Rather than saving state funding by disconnecting from the federal tax code in 2025, state agencies were directed to propose across-the-board cuts to programs that make everyday living more affordable for Oregonians. These cuts would disproportionately harm working families, children, seniors, individuals with disabilities, and rural communities at a time when Oregonians are seeing the cost of everyday needs like food, housing and child care continue to skyrocket. Last year, the average Oregon household spent at least $845 more on higher food, utility, healthcare, and other essential costs due to Trump’s tariffs and economic chaos.

Legislators and advocates from across the state joined together Tuesday to urge strategic disconnection from expensive tax giveaways that will primarily benefit wealthy individuals and large corporations. Lawmakers backing these solutions were joined by advocates on Tuesday in Salem, where lawmakers urged their colleagues to protect programs that help working families afford everyday costs by strategically disconnecting from costly and ineffective federal tax giveaways for ultra-wealthy individuals and large corporations.

The measures proposed by legislators from the Working Families Caucus include:

Ensuring multinational corporations pay their fair share by increasing Oregon’s inclusion of Net CFC Tested Income (formerly GILTI) from 20% to 50% and disconnecting from the federal Foreign-Derived Deduction Eligible Income (FDDEI, formerly FDII) deduction, helping to prevent them from hiding their profits offshore.
Ending tax giveaways for wealthy business owners by scaling back or eliminating Oregon’s preferential tax rates for high-income pass-through business profits.
Disconnecting from federal tax giveaways for wealthy investors, including Opportunity Zone and Qualified Small Business Stock (QSBS) capital gains exclusions that disproportionately benefit top earners.
Eliminating regressive and poorly targeted deductions that overwhelmingly flow to the top 10%, such as vacation home mortgage and auto loan interest deductions.
Stop giving corporations that buy out-of-state investments like factories and machinery large upfront Oregon tax deductions.
Rejecting a federal 300% increase in the limit taxpayers can deduct for the State and Local Tax (SALT) deduction by maintaining the $10,000 cap.

“Cutting vital services for working families — who are already struggling with skyrocketing costs — just to pad the profits of wealthy CEOs and shareholders is a choice, not an imperative. And it’s an unconscionable choice. This does not reflect Oregon values and Oregon priorities,” said Oregon Sen. Khanh Pham (SD-23). “We should not be balancing the budget on the backs of working families and our most vulnerable communities struggling to make ends meet when there are fair, responsible revenue options available to us.”

“As we all know, the federal government has prioritized ICE funding over supporting the basic needs of our communities. They have decided to give tax breaks to the wealthy while simultaneously taking away much-needed programs for families and children,” said Senator Courtney Neron Misslin (King City, Sherwood, Tigard, Wilsonville). “Here in Oregon, we have the opportunity in the coming session to make a different decision at the state level. We must disconnect from federal tax codes and use our limited resources to ensure stability for programs like School Meals for All and childcare.”

“The Trump administration is tanking our economy. Many people depend on services like housing assistance and education that are funded by our general fund revenue. The Oregon Legislature codified many of Trump's tax codes during his first presidency and we are still paying the price. We must not make that mistake again and we need to follow through with disconnecting from the federal tax code to protect the services and investments that our communities need,” said Oregon Rep. Mark Gamba (HD-41).

“Our job is to look out for hard-working, every-day Oregonians who will pay the price if we do not act,” said Oregon Rep. Farrah Chaichi (HD-35). “If Trump wants to help his megarich corporate donors steal food off of Oregon kitchen tables, we should not help him. It’s time we say enough is enough.”

“This is a question of Oregon values and who we are. We have a decision to make here in the Oregon Legislature,” said Oregon Rep. Lesly Muñoz (HD-22). “Are we going to short-change Oregonians to pad the profits of the wealthy? Or are we going to take a bold stand against corruption and step up to make our economy more fair for working families?”

“Too many Oregonians already struggle to afford to see a provider when they’re sick,” said Oregon Rep. Travis Nelson (HD-44). “I refuse to rubber-stamp Trump’s tax breaks for billionaires and make care more expensive and less accessible for Oregon’s children, seniors, and working families. I urge my colleagues in the legislature to join me in protecting the health of Oregon families, not padding the wealth of mega-corporation CEOs and shareholders.”