Portland won't be able to collect $12 million a year from its flawed arts tax without adopting one of several changes, which will be laid out publicly for the first time Wednesday in front of the Portland City Council.



As it stands, Portland has received almost $7.9 million from nearly 253,000 people who paid the $35-per-person tax.



But because of changes or clarifications made after voters approved the tax last November -- including exemptions for government retirees, Social Security income and people who make less than $1,000 -- Portland can only hope to collect an estimated $9.9 million to $10.8 million without revisions.



On Wednesday, the Bureau of Revenue will present six options for city leaders to consider. The options range from leaving the arts tax "as is" to upending it by calculating taxes based on taxable income, which could lead to big bills for the city's highest earners.





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The City Council directed revenue officials in March to provide options for the arts tax to ensure that it is fair and equitable to Portlanders -- but also to make sure that

The first option would leave Portland's tax unchanged at $35 per person but it wouldn't raise all the money that officials intended. For a two-adult household, that means a $70-a-year tax bill.

A second option would increase the per-person tax to a flat $50 but officials would exempt more people from paying it. For instance, a family of four wouldn't have to pay if it earned less than $46,100 -- double the federal poverty level. For a qualifying two-adult household, the bill would be $100.

A third option would be similar to the second, except households that earn less than $75,000 would pay $35 per adult and those above would pay $65 per adult. For a two-adult household, that's $70 or $130.

A fourth option would establish taxes of $35, $75 or $100, depending on taxable income. Anyone who earns more than $35,000 individually or $70,000 for married Portlanders would have to pay the $100 tax. For a two-adult household, that'd be $70, $150 or $200, depending on income.

A fifth option would require arts tax payments based on .15 percent of taxable income, with a minimum tax of $20. Under such a scenario, a married couple making $100,000 would have to pay $150 and a household making $1 million would be responsible for $1,500 -- $1,430 more than the current tax.

The sixth option looks a lot like the fifth, except it would be based on .19 percent of taxable income and no household would have to pay more than $250.

The City Council work session begins at 2 p.m. Wednesday. It's open to the public but residents won't be allowed to testify. Officials will make no formal decision.

-- Brad Schmidt