corporate tax expenditure database online
Jon Bartholomew
Hello friends,
I have finally gotten all my raw data entry done on the spreadsheet of corporate tax breaks in Oregon.
The property tax breaks were tough because the Tax Expenditure Report does not tell you if or how much corporations benefit from a particular program. I had to make some assumptions, for example, that a property tax break for farmers is taken by some corporate farms, not just by family farms. And some land held for conservation is owned by corporations. But how much of either of this is another question that remains unanswered.
In the meantime, I would love your help in looking at my spreadsheet. If you see errors, please let me know. If you think I should present the data in another way, please let me know. If you think I should add more columns, please let me know.
Through this I am trying to show how the state can present data more effectively and highlight information we should have and either don’t have it or it’s unclear/inconsistent. It’s all about transparency.
Here’s the link to the google doc. Please note there are two tabs (at the bottom) – one sheet for income tax breaks, one for property tax breaks.
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0ArEp802KnywKdHEtQjJPWUU1Tmw0bmJzb1hNYXgtY1E&hl=en
One thing I want to know from you is if Google allows you to download a copy. I haven’t given you the ability to edit the document, but I would like people to be able to download a copy.
Any feedback you can offer on this is greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Please do not share this link with anyone else without asking me first. I will probably say yes, but I want to have a handle on who all is looking at it. Thanks!
..Jon
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Jon Bartholomew
Policy Advocate
OSPIRG - www.ospirg.org
cell 503.358.3833
office 503.231.4181 x374
twitter http://twitter.com/OSPIRGJon