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The cable TV company has spent years fighting its Oregon property taxes. Some lawmakers say the company should be interest on whatever it ultimately owes.

(AP photo)

Comcast has spent years fighting its Oregon property taxes in court, in the process amassing a tax bill that could be well over $100 million.

As the legal fight enters its eighth year the bill remains unpaid, Oregon lawmakers are preparing legislation that would charge interest on large, deferred corporate tax bills.

It would also eliminate the discount companies currently receive for paying such taxes "on time" - even if unsuccessful legal challenges actually delay payment by several years.

Corporate taxes were a central issue in Oregon politics last year, with the unsuccessful campaign for tax initiative Measure 97 arguing big companies weren't paying their "fair share." The measure's defeat has heightened the urgency to address budget shortfalls at all levels of government.

"Armed with some of the world's most expensive lawyers, large corporations spend a lot of time contesting their tax obligations in court," Rep. Phil Barnhart (D-Eugene), chairman of the House Revenue Committee, said in an email. "Obviously, that can have a huge impact on local government budgets and can even affect state finances."

Comcast said it hasn't seen the bill and would not comment. Barnhart declined to release a draft of the legislation.

A copy obtained by The Oregonian/OregonLive indicates it would charge companies about 4 percent annually on deferred taxes. Interest would vary, tied to other state tax programs. Companies would only be liable for interest on taxes actually due upon final resolution of their dispute.

The legislation would also remove the on-time discount for companies that delay their bills. It would apply only to unpaid bills in excess of $1 million.

The most recent data from the Oregon Department of Revenue shows there were $129 million in deferred taxes statewide last year, two-thirds of that owed in the tri-county Portland metro area. Comcast isn't the only company that has deferred Oregon taxes, but advocates for local governments say the cable giant's unpaid taxes are - by far - the largest in the state.

The League of Oregon Cities has said that Comcast's deferred tax bill could be as high as $170 million. The state won't disclose individual companies' tax liabilities, so it's impossible to know whether the Department of Revenue's tally of deferred taxes matches what cities and counties calculate.

The progressive public policy group Tax Fairness Oregon, which supports the proposed legislation, estimates Comcast's tax deferrals are worth at least $6 million a year to the company. The organization says the deferrals are essentially a no-interest loan to Comcast.

Wendy Johnson, intergovernmental relations associate with the League of Oregon Cities, says there is currently little incentive for big companies to settle tax disputes.

"Usually there's risk in litigation. There's no risk at all right now. We want that addressed," Johnson said. "All they're out is their lawyer fees. They're not out interest or anything else."

Comcast is the nation's largest internet and cable TV provider and dominates those markets in the Northwest. The company says it has 600,000 subscribers in Oregon and Southwest Washington.

Its tax dispute began in 2009, when Oregon tax assessors began applying a new methodology called "central assessment" to Comcast's property in the state. The change incorporated intangible assets, notably including the value of its cable TV franchises.

Comcast says the change increased the valuation of its Oregon property by more than $500 million and sued to block the new tax methodology. In 2014, the Oregon Supreme Court ruled against Comcast - potentially restoring millions of dollars to local governments and schools.

Comcast continues to fight the taxes, though, challenging the state valuation of its property in Oregon Tax Court in October. It's also asking the tax court to declare it eligible for the "gigabit" tax break Oregon lawmakers created in 2015 for companies that offer residential internet connections faster than 1 gigabit per second.

Lawmakers created that exemption in an effort to lure Google Fiber to the Portland area. In July, though, Google scrapped plans to build a residential fiber network in Portland, and Comcast now stands to be the main beneficiary of the tax break. The company says it will offer gigabit service in Oregon in the early part of 2017.

With Google off the table, though, Barnhart said he may seek to revisit the gigabit tax break during the upcoming legislative session.

"That kind of network would be a huge asset, but the threat that Comcast might use the law to avoid millions in tax obligations without building anything outweighs any other concerns for me at this point," he wrote. "I'm reaching out to colleagues on both sides of the aisle who have shared my concerns and looking for consensus on the best approach."

Correction: Oregon lawmakers created the "gigabit" tax break in 2015, not 2014.

-- Mike Rogoway; twitter: @rogoway; 503-294-7699