A Better Oregon is a coalition of parents, teachers, small businesses, leaders and organizations who have come together to make sure we get the schools and services we need by making large and out-of-state corporations pay their fair share in taxes.

Oregonians are working harder than ever but are bringing home less in pay. In fact, the majority of working Oregonians are earning $1,000 to $2,000 less each year. And we’re paying our taxes, but large and out-of-state corporations aren’t paying theirs.

Oregon has the lowest corporate taxes in the country, mainly because most corporations pay only minimum taxes and those taxes are low! The biggest out-of-state corporations pay minimum taxes equal to only 5 cents for every $100 in sales!

It’s time for large, out-of-state corporations to pay their fair share.

These out-of-state corporations make hundreds of millions of dollars from the business they do in Oregon, but they contribute very little to help pay for the services they use, like our roads, public safety, healthcare and schools.

When corporations don’t pay taxes, working families are left with the burden of supporting our communities. And the results of this are felt in every community, every day: Young children aren’t getting the childcare and early education they need. Our schools have been cut to the bone. And we now have the third-largest class sizes in the country.

Since 2008, there’s been a 29% increase in the number of seniors living in poverty. More than 200,000 Oregonians don’t have health insurance, and 13,000 children don’t have coverage. The people who do have coverage are paying more — health care costs have gone up 32% over the last ten years.

A Better Oregon is circulating a petition for a 2016 ballot measure to increase the corporate minimum tax for businesses whose Oregon sales exceed $25 million each year. This measure will make sure that large and out-of-state corporations do their part to fund the schools and services that will make Oregon thrive.

For more information, visit www.abetteroregon.org.