Lawmakers likely to tweak bicycle tax in response to opposition
The tax will change, but not go away.
Note: I'm currently on a family trip and not working normal hours. Email and message responses will be delayed and story and posting volumes here and on our social media accounts will not be at their usual levels until I return to Portland September 4th. Thanks for your patience and understanding. - Jonathan Maus, BikePortland Publisher and Editor
The tax will change, but not go away.
About $35 extra for the average new bike.
To oppose and support something simultaneously can be quite tricky.
Let the lobbying begin.
Would you accept a bike excise tax if it meant significant new funding for bike stuff?
The city’s bicycle advocates aren’t exactly thrilled by a 4% excise tax proposal. But perhaps surprisingly, they aren’t gasping in horror, either.
Read the report here. After a year of research, a 12-member committee of the Portland City Club released a report today titled, No Turning Back: A City Club Report on Bicycle Transportation in Portland. The 83-page report tackled nearly every major bicycling issue that Portland faces: From quantifying just how many people are riding, to … Read more
Don’t forget to add tax.(Photo © J. Maus/BikePortland) The Seattle Times reported today on a $10 billion transportation funding package introduced by state lawmakers. The package includes a provision that would levy $25 tax on the sale of all bicycles over $500. The tax would be one of six revenue streams and would be expected … Read more
Doing some damage.(Photo © J. Maus/BikePortland) Reader Chris S. came across a story in The Oregonian yesterday that made him do a double-take. In a report about the ‘State of the County’ event held by the Clackamas County commissioners, the topic of bicycles came up. The event allowed citizens to ask commissioners any question they’d … Read more
A bike tax has more supporters than you might think.(Photo © J. Maus) 2010 will be a year of major discussions about how to finance America’s transportation system. As the use of bicycles is taken more seriously and more money is spent on bike-centric facilities, calls for a revenue stream taken directly from people who … Read more
[This story was co-written by Elly Blue and Jonathan Maus] Scott Bricker(Photos © J. Maus) Last week the Board of Directors of the Bicycle Transportation Alliance (BTA) — Oregon’s largest bicycle advocacy organization — fired Scott Bricker after he served just two years as the organization’s executive director. “What’s going on down there?” we were … Read more
Comment of the Week: Gratitude for N/NE Broadway project