Since a bunch of people I talked to over the weekend still all thought Portland’s new arts tax was due on tax day, maybe because notices saying otherwise didn’t start arriving in mailboxes until this weekend (or maybe because you don’t follow the arts tax on Twitter), consider this a friendly reminder: The deadline for paying your $35 has been moved to May 15.
As we and nearly every other outlet reported last month, the deadline moved after Portland City Council agreed to add a $1,000 minimum income—a change that took effect only as of May 3. Previously, the tax applied to anyone who earned any income in 2012, provided they lived in a household above the federal poverty threshold.
The arts tax, meanwhile, has also been besieged by legal issues—is it a head tax?—and persistent complaints that it’s not progressive enough. Mayor Charlie Hales has directed the city’s revenue bureau to come back with suggested changes this summer. Those headaches could mean that millions meant for arts teachers and expanded access for low-income kids at city arts institutions winds up thrown into Portland’s version of Free Parking while everything gets sorted out.
Meaning: If you’ve waited this long to decide whether to ignore the thing, you’ve got another month to make up your mind.
Or more likely, never pay the tax. It’s unconstitutional and dumb.
Thanks for reminding me of the date that I’m still not going to pay the tax.
I’ll pay it, but if the Arts Tax isn’t overturned in court, let’s get it repealed in a future election. Do we really want piecemeal tax bills arriving in the mail? That only some of us will bother to pay anyway? I know that I do not.
Disagree with it all you like, justifiably or not, but simply refusing to pay it and hoping that it eventually gets thrown out as “unconstitutional” (don’t hold your breath) seems about as effective and reasoned a response as a little kid refusing to do his homework, arms crossed and smirking a smirk, because it “isn’t fair”.
Then you’ll be tagged with a late fee. And then another. At some point your arms won’t be able to cross any tighter and your neck will grow tired from shaking your head for so long.
Anyway, we all know that the second they threaten to send you to the Principal’s office you’ll quickly, if grudgingly, pay it. So why not just pay it now? If it’s indeed found to be unconstitutional in the future, you’ll be refunded.
The irony is that school kids could use more funding for science and math more than the arts.
The irony is, Frankie, that regular arts instruction is scientifically proven to increase math and science scores, improve attendence and graduation rates and create learners who are better equipped for higher level courses in high school and college. Turns out that spending money on arts education is actually better at raising science and math achievement than spending money on more math teachers.
It also has a side benefit of encouraging empathy (which provably lowers bullying behavior), curiosity (fundamental to the scientific process) and spatial reasoning skills (necessary for higher level math). So, yeah. Nobody’s asking you to pay to make more unemployed painters. They’re actually asking you to level the playing field so kids whose moms can’t afford to send them to piano lessons still have a shot at graduating and succeeding in math and science.
Opposite of the expected result, indeed.
… and it’ll even lengthen your life, lead to a better marrige, and cut the mortality rate of future children!