Metro is considering a variety of taxes and fees to pay for its proposed region-wide transportation package likely headed to voters this fall, and the Portland area’s largest chamber of commerce is watching the political sausage-making with interest but without taking sides.

Yet.

Amy Lewin, spokeswoman for the Portland Business Alliance, said the chamber hasn’t adopted a “formal stance” on the transportation package yet. The 30-plus-member task force that has for a year helped the regional government shape the project list includes six chamber of commerce members, she said.

“We are certainly keeping apprised of updates and the twists and turns.”

The Metro Council met Tuesday and decided to continue studying a potpourri of taxes and fees that officials said are the best options available to raise the estimated $350 million to $450 million needed every year to pay back bonds.

Metro hasn’t finalized a project list, nor a final price tag, but the current plan envisions a $7 billion package, dominated by the proposed light-rail extension to Bridgeport Village and a slew of safety and transit improvements on dangerous streets across the tri-county area. Some $2.2 billion of the overall project is expected to come from either the federal or state government, so Metro would need to raise the rest of the money from local sources – meaning people or businesses.

According to an analysis presented to Metro council Tuesday, the combination of taxes or fees likely to raise enough revenue and be politically palatable include a $50 vehicle registration fee, a personal income tax of 1% on income greater than $100,000 per year, and an employer payroll tax of .6%.

Another option that would achieve the desired revenue and polled well would be the vehicle fee and a business income tax of 1%.

Metro at this point is not considering a property tax, citing poor poll numbers. Similarly, a sales tax, which Metro could institute without voter approval, was also dismissed.

Council President Lynn Peterson cautioned that she would like to “put an asterisk” on the idea of a personal income or business income tax, saying Metro should “proceed carefully” on those funding mechanisms.

Peterson said she’d heard some pushback on the potential of including those taxes from business groups.

Lewin declined to comment on the potential business or personal income tax. Peterson recently briefed the chamber of commerce’s board on the overall transportation bond.

As for the overall direction of the package, the chamber is still waiting to see it develop. Metro hopes to finalize the measure and decide whether to send it to voters for approval in late May. The bond would then appear on the November ballot.

“We know that there are infrastructure investments that are important,” Lewin said, “and we know that supporting transportation investments for all modes of transportation are important.”

-- Andrew Theen; atheen@oregonian.com; 503-294-4026; @andrewtheen

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