Testimony of Andrew Hoan regarding HB 4134 to the House Committee on Revenue
I am Andrew Hoan, the President and CEO of the Portland Metro Chamber. Thank you for the opportunity to share the Portland Metro Chamber’s opposition to House Bill 4134.
The Portland Metro Chamber is greater Portland’s Chamber of Commerce and represents the largest, most diverse network of businesses in the region. We represent more than 2,200 members, from 27 counties, 13 states and virtually every industry sector. More than 80% of our members are small businesses.
As you are all well aware, the Portland region is facing significant economic decline and uncertainty with record commercial vacancy rates, stagnating population, and tens of thousands of job losses resulting in declining state and local revenues from business and property taxes, and Portlanders feeling deeply uncertain about their economic outlook. Succinctly put – we are nearly last in every economic indicator in the nation that you don’t want to be last in, and first in the economic indicators you do not want to be first in.
At a time when the state of Oregon and the Portland region need urgent support and investment in the private sector the most, HB 4134 would raise taxes and direct state and local Tourism and Lodging Taxes away from programs that drive economic vitality and growth, as well as advance a positive narrative to the rest of the country. The proposed increase would give Portland the second highest lodging tax rate on the West Coast at 17.25%, while we are conversely trailing nearly every single community in tourism recovery.
To be specific, we are severely lagging in economic indicators related to tourism and hospitality including visitor volume, employment and tax revenues.
As an example, in 2025, employment in the Leisure and Hospitality sector in Multnomah County was down 14% compared to pre-pandemic levels. This means that Multnomah County’s sector is behind every single U.S. County besides San Francisco County. Portland’s own city economist said that it’s difficult to imagine a resurrection of Portland’s economy without recovery in the hospitality sector.
Simply put, HB 4134 is the exact opposite of what we should be doing in this moment. Instead of making it easier for people to come to Portland from around the state or country, we are raising the ticket price. This would deal a major economic blow to an already declining private sector. This is not the time to create yet another competitive disadvantage for our tourism and hospitality sector. Nor is it the time to ignore voices from the tourism industry. Instead, legislators should ask a simple question – how can I help?
With property, business and income taxes on the decline, visitor spending is needed more now than ever to recover our economy.
I urge you to oppose House Bill 4134.
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