Support Your Local Business

Oregon is already ranked in the Top 10 for helping small business's since 2014.

That's great but we will improve on what we already have in order to become #1.

We will do a state-wide push to support the local neighborhood mom and pop shops and new start-ups.

We will bring in proven professional advisors which will go county to county, set up shop and help revitalize community shops as well as help to start new ones. SBA loans will be made easier but more importantly once a new business is up and running they will not be left behind to fend for themselves. We will guide in order to help become a successful and thriving small business and help to watch them grow

It is proven as an economic jump-start to keep the money flowing within your local community. Purchase more often from locally owned shops and not just the national mega-chains.

Look at it this way. Let's say you get paid $20 from working at a local donut shop. You use that $20 to buy lunch from a local street vendor, then that street vendor uses that $20 to take a taxi home from a small taxi business. Then that taxi driver uses that $20 to pay his babysitter, next the babysitter uses that $20 to buy groceries at the local farmers market.

You see...that one $20 bill just produced $100 of economic value that stayed within your own community. That is really good for their economy and why it could be bad to spend that same $20 at for example Walmart, Taco Bell or IKEA. Because then most of your hard earned money gets siphoned directly out of your state and sometime out of the country into the bank accounts of some millionaire stranger. Zero economic benefit to your small town and community.

So, the next time you need a burger, skip McDonald’s and go to your local burger or sandwich shop. Need clothing, gifts or knick-knacks? Forget Target or Costco and head to your neighbor-owned clothing boutique or gift-shop. Food, toys, furniture, tools… if your community doesn’t have it, get an Emerging Small Business grant and start up your own…. your neighbors will support you.

Concerned about higher prices or smaller inventory? When you support local, those business’s will then have the resources to invest in a larger selection and even lower their prices because of higher sales volume. It’s a win-win by supporting local.

We understand that national mega-chains are very important as an anchor-store to help a new community grow and they can also be franchised owned by locals. By no means are we suggesting to abandon them. But when local citizens do most of their shopping or exclusively shop at the national mega-chains...they are only hurting themselves and their neighbors.

Support your local business. Mom and Pop Shops.

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1. Tax Climate

According to the Tax Foundation, a non-partisan research institution, in 2017 Oregon ranked #10 in the U.S. for business friendliness. In fact, the state has maintained a top 10 spot since 2014. For starters, Oregon does not have sales tax. This is great news for retailers, which are the single biggest beneficiary. For many retailers, the majority of their day-to-day expenses are subject to sales tax. (Oregon does however have an excise tax on gasoline, beer, spirits, and cigarettes--I guess we can't have it all.)

Oregon also allows corporate net operating losses to be carried forward for up to 15 years without a cap. That means your business can apply this year's net operating loss to future years' profits and reduce its tax liability.

2. Business Tax Credits and Government Incentives

Oregon has a creative incentive, Oregon Investment Advantage that encourages small and medium businesses to start or locate in selected counties in the state. If you hire as few as 5 full-time employees within an eligible county your business can substantially deduct, if not completely eliminate its state business income tax liability for up to 8 years. For smaller companies this incentive is huge because it allows you to reinvest money back into your company that would have otherwise gone to the government.

Another attractive incentive for small and medium businesses is the Oregon New Market Tax Credit (NMTC,) which delivers below-market-rate investment options to Oregon businesses that invest and revitalize low-income communities. (By the way, nearly half of downtown Portland qualify as low income.) Businesses that are successful securing NMTCs receive a 39 percent tax credit of the total qualified investment over seven years. Oregon's NMTC allocation for 2016 was $203 million dollars.

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https://www.forafinancial.com/blog/small-business/start-a-business-in-oregon/