The Oregon House approved a bill Monday that would charge interest to companies that dispute their large tax obligations, an action aimed squarely at Comcast.
The telecommunications giant has been fighting elements of its local property taxes since 2009, and over the years its accumulated debt has reached $147 million, pending resolution of its dispute.
That's according to a tally compiled by Our Oregon, an advocacy group that promotes funding for schools and other public services. Some other companies have unpaid, disputed taxes, too, but none close to the amount involved in Comcast's dispute.
Backers of House Bill 2407 say the way Oregon currently handles property tax disputes gives companies a substantial financial incentive to drag out their tax disputes. Under existing law, companies typically hold onto the money until all legal issues are resolved. Tax watchdogs call that a no-interest loan from the state.
The House approved the measure by a vote of 36-22. It now goes to the state Senate.
HB 2407 would require companies to pay property tax bills of more than $1 million while the dispute is under way, but permits county assessors to put the money aside in an interest-bearing account. If the company prevails, it gets the disputed tax money and the interest. If the company loses, the money and the interest go to the local governments.
Business organizations such as Associated Oregon Industries were critical of the measure, but Comcast itself did not object.
"We're not opposing it," Comcast spokeswoman Amy Keiter said. "We're fine with it."
In its final version, HB 2407 applies only to money owed in future years. So even if Comcast's tax dispute continues it won't need to pay interest on that $147 million, regardless of how the matter comes out in the courts.
However, if the dispute continues, the amount it owes will grow each year - and that portion would be subject to the new law.
The League of Oregon Cities, which had pushed for HB 2407, said it is satisfied with the bill. But only if the Legislature takes action on another of the league's legislative priorities.
"That's just one piece of it," said the League's Wendy Johnson. "We still are looking for the other bill."
That would be House Bill 2770, which is a repeal of the "gigabit" tax break enacted two years ago.
Oregon created that tax break to lure Google Fiber's superfast gigabit internet service (a gigabit is 1,000 megabits per second) to the Portland area. But Google backed out last year, so Comcast could end up being the tax break's main beneficiary - exempting it from its disputed property taxes in future years.
A Legislative committee plans a hearing later this week on the gigabit repeal.
Correction: This article has been corrected to properly attribute Wendy Johnson's comment.
-- Mike Rogoway; twitter: @rogoway; 503-294-7699