Fair Rules. Smart Fixes. No New Burdens on Working Families.

Oregon’s affordability crisis didn’t happen by accident. A small number of loopholes at the very top allow massive, inherited, and accumulated wealth to pass through Oregon untouched — while ordinary people pay taxes on every paycheck, every grocery run, and every bill.

My approach is simple:
Fix the specific tax breaks that only benefit the ultra-rich, while protecting everything working families rely on.

Every proposal below is surgical, not broad. Every reform will include:

  • A generous tax-free floor

  • Carve-outs for family homes, family farms, local small businesses, disabled dependents, seniors, and tribal considerations

  • Zero new taxes on wages or working-class assets

These bills target the loopholes, not the middle class.

This is how we un-rig the system — carefully, surgically, and with Oregon’s working families at the center of every decision.

  • (A targeted surcharge on only the largest inheritances.)

    The first $500,000 per person is tax-free.
    Family homes, family farms, small businesses, disabled heirs, and seniors are fully protected.

    Above the exempt amount, very large inheritances pay a small, tiered surcharge — and 100% of the revenue goes directly to affordable housing and education.

    In plain language:
    If you inherit a normal amount, nothing changes. If you inherit a fortune, you contribute to the things every Oregonian needs.

  • (Stops huge investment gains, untaxed for decades, from escaping tax forever.)

    Huge investment gains are made tax-free with the “Step Up in Basis” loophole. That means the wealthiest estates can pass down millions in untaxed investment gains. This reform protects all the things regular families pass on — homes, farms, small businesses — and limits the loophole only for very large estates with a reasonable, tiered limitation.

    In plain language:
    Regular people keep the rules they already rely on. The ultra-rich lose the loophole.

  • (Real charities get support; tax shelters disguised as “charity” do not.)

    We strengthen tax benefits for real, community-serving nonprofits — food banks, shelters, schools — while tightening the rules for wealthy donors who use charitable holding accounts to store wealth tax-free.

    We also create a Working Family Giving Credit so ordinary Oregonians finally get a real benefit for giving.

    In plain language:
    We reward actual charity and cut back on tax shelters pretending to be charitable.

  • (Increases transparency in campaign financing to expose quid pro quo schemes.)

    • Requires rapid disclosure of political donations and spending, including tracing large contributions back to their original source.

    • Restricts lobbying influence by banning certain conflicted donations and extending cooling-off periods before former officials can lobby.

    • Expands public empowerment tools like Democracy Dollars and small-donor matching to help regular Oregonians participate meaningfully in elections.

    • Establishes an independent enforcement body with real authority to audit, investigate, and hold violators accountable.

    In plain language:

    Makes Oregon politics more honest and transparent by forcing big donors and dark-money groups into the sunlight, and blocks lobbyists and state contractors from buying influence.