Oregon Investment Advantage

With an up-to-10-year income tax holiday, this program helps businesses start or locate new operations in many Oregon counties.

Companies setting up operations in an eligible county can be certified as many as 10 consecutive times to annually deduct or subtract taxable income related to those operations, potentially eliminating any state business income tax liability for that period.

Requirements of the certified facility include:

• creation of at least five new full-time, year-round jobs that
  • each have a minimum level of compensation, and
  • receive wages averaging 100% or more of the current county wage;
• facility operations are the first of their kind anywhere in Oregon for that company (which often is an existing Oregon business); and
• they do not compete with local existing businesses.

Having five or more facility employees receiving sufficient compensation and average wage are requirements to be satisfied with each application for annual certification. The uniqueness of operations to the company and other requirements generally pertain only as of the date that the application for preliminary certification is submitted to Business Oregon, which is also when the county's per capita income level is set for purposes of minimum compensation that includes elective fringe/financial benefits in addtion to wages and other taxable income.

The application for preliminary certification is due before any hiring or work commences on the facility, and the process for approval involves a 60-day period, during which local governments could potentially object. Applications for annual certification need to be received by Business Oregon within 30 days after any of 10 consecutive income tax years—once the facility's new operations have been up and running for at least 24 months as of the date of the first such application.