They're coming for your "kicker"

Hey, here's an idea! Take Oregon's income tax "kicker" program, which refunds taxes collected beyond the state's budgeted needs, and turn it into a wealth redistribution program!

The Working Families Kicker would make a simple change to the current kicker law. Instead of doling out the kicker proportionately to tax liability, the kicker would be sent out in equal amounts to all tax filers. This would increase the kicker for most Oregonians and make a big difference for those struggling to make ends meet.

Although estimates of who will get how much from the projected $3.9 billion kicker are not yet available, the benefits of the Working Families Kicker can be seen when applying it to the most recent kicker totaling $1.9 billion issued in 2022. For that kicker, the typical Oregonian — the Oregonian in the middle — received an estimated $420. Had the Working Families Kicker been in place then, sending out equal kickers to all tax filers, the typical Oregonian would have received a kicker worth $850. For the lowest-income Oregonians, their kickers would have risen from an estimated average of $30 to $850. This is an amount that can make a meaningful difference in a family’s life, such as catching up on the rent or other bills.

Yes, money matters. But what they're describing is not a tax refund. It's a reverse head tax. A complete and utter distortion of the intent of the "kicker" provision of the state constitution.

A dumb idea, you say? Now, now. Remember, this is Oregon. No idea is too dumb. Look for it on the legislature's agenda soon.