Montana Republican lawmakers have asked the state Department of Commerce to do what it can to attract Oregon businesses in the wake of a voter-passed initiative there approving tax hikes on businesses and the wealthy.
The vote, approved last month and backed by Oregon’s Democratic lawmakers, allowed legislators to avoid budget cuts that they say would have hurt schools and social services.
In a letter sent to the Montana Department of Commerce, 46 state GOP legislators and candidates say they see the tax increase as opportunity to attract Oregon businesses to the Big Sky state.
Here’s the letter:
Dear Director Preite,
As you are likely aware the voters of Oregon recently passed Measures 66 and 67 which place onerous new taxes on business and individual taxpayers alike. The Measures will result in some $700 Million in tax hikes. One opponent of the measures, Nike Inc. founder Phil Knight, referred to them as “assisted suicide” for Oregon business.
As Director of the Montana Department of Commerce one of your charges is to “Promote Montana as a place to locate business,” according to your department’s website – http://commerce.mt.gov/. It is for this reason that we write to you today, to request that you direct your office to offer relocation to Montana as an alternative to the businesses hit hardest by these new taxes. Whether it is through advertisements or direct contact from your office; we are confident your department has the resources and expertise to make the case for Montana.
Unemployment in Montana is taking a serious toll on our families and we’re sure that you will agree that we must make every effort to attract new business to Montana that provide good family-wage paying jobs and can help Montana families that are struggling to make ends meet during these tough economic times.
We thank you for your attention to this matter.