Commentary: A lesson on Oregon’s business climate
Published 3:49 pm Wednesday, November 19, 2025
Oregon’s business climate is once again on the minds of business leaders in the state, as evidenced by a recent opinion piece in The Oregonian by Karla S. Chambers, co-founder and co-owner of Stahlbush Island Farms. The complaints about Oregon’s business climate focus on taxes (they claim they are too high) and regulations (they claim they are over-regulated).
The business community in this country did not always equate perceived high taxes as bad for the business climate. In March 1950, The Oregonian had a top of the front page article titled “Here’s a Happy U.S. Taxpayer” about the nation’s alleged highest-paid executive being happy that he pays a 92% federal income tax.
More recently and speaking to the issue of the business climate, in 1990 Fortune magazine noted that its choice for the second best city for business earned that spot in large part because it had high taxes and well-funded public services that the high taxes make possible. “Painfully high corporate and personal income taxes go for heavy expenditures on education, welfare, transportation, and parks. The system works” the business magazine exclaimed in explaining why it liked the twin cities Minneapolis/St. Paul as a place for business to locate.
In Oregon, corporations used to contribute 18% of income taxes. Due to loopholes and tax avoidance, they now pay much less of our income taxes. As noted recently by the Oregon Center for Public Policy, “the share of Oregon income taxes paid by corporations has declined by more than 40% since the mid-1970s.”
One tax loophole pushed by the business community to allegedly improve Oregon’s business climate took Intel Corp. from top corporate income tax payer at $50 million a year down to zero, putting them in the miniscule-for-them corporate minimum tax category, a tax they pay for the privilege of conducting business in Oregon. Higher ed, important to a good business climate, loses out.
Chambers, like others before her, points to Dutch Bros’ move of its headquarters to Arizona and implies that it is because Oregon is not competitive. As The Oregonian reported at the time of the move announcement, Oregon’s business climate was not the reason; Dutch’s new CEO was located in Arizona and the company wanted its headquarters to be close to their market expansion.
There’s no question that the quality of public services impacts the business climate and that Oregon needs to keep improving its public services, as there will always be room for improvement.
The fact that recently Oregon was able to get Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program funds onto the cards used by tens of thousands of Oregonians before President Donald Trump and company could stop them is a testament to Oregon’s commitment to government efficiency. Food businesses in Oregon, such as Stahlbush Farms, benefitted economically from Gov. Tina Kotek restoring those federal dollars to Oregon’s economy so quickly.
Are Oregon inspections and regulations of food businesses like Stahlbush Farms needed in light of the federal inspections and regulations? As I consider the business weather affecting food producers in Oregon, I believe the state’s use of an abundance of caution and unwillingness to rely on just federal efforts when it comes to protecting public health is smart protection against the economic storm that happens when a food producer has contaminated products.
Business leaders need to be educated on the vital role public structures play in the state’s economy. From public health food inspections to strong state universities and a court system that timely resolves disputes and established a reliable rule of law, public structures are integral to a good business climate.
And the business community needs to adopt a “we’re in this together” mindset instead of their current “you’re on your own” starting point that ignores the role of adequately funded public structures in creating a sound business climate where everyone has the opportunity to flourish.
Chuck Sheketoff lives in Silverton and was the founding executive director of the Oregon Center for Public Policy from 1997-2018. He prefers Stahlbush Farms products when looking for frozen vegetables.