Portland, Oregon to tackle housing crisis with approved tax

With house prices being out of reach for a lot of young buyers alongside a growing economy, rising rents, reduced vacancies and increased numbers of homelessness, Portland City Council alongside its voters have approved a one percent tax on all commercial and residential constructions in order to successfully fund future housing projects and support the local community, commencing from August 2016 in a $258 million bond.

Portland City Commissioner Dan Saltzman told Oregon Public Broadcasting that the new imposed tax will raise approximately $8 million per year. With a growth rate of 1.72 percent in Portland’s population, the housing crisis has recently become an issue that no one can ignore.

The tax accumulated through this scheme will help support families or those who earn less than the median family income, governed by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development. With the construction and acquirement of over a thousand affordable housing units, around 600 would be targeted for families or individuals who have incomes below 30 percent of the total median income for families, $22,000 for a family of four, or $15,000 for individual persons.

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