US / Oregon Populism Swings Left as Oregon Votes to Tax the Rich Voters hit corporations, to, in state referendum By Jane Yager, Newser Staff Posted Jan 27, 2010 7:31 AM CST Copied Supporters of 'No on Tax Measures 66 &67' , including Jill Odell, front center and Shaun Jillions, left, wait to see early returns in a hotel room in Salem Ore., Tuesday, Jan 26, 2010. (Greg Wahl-Stephens) Don't be too quick to extrapolate from the Massachusetts election that the country's populist surge swings to the right: Oregon voters yesterday approved tax hikes for corporations and the rich. The referendum, which reversed more than two decades of Oregon voters shooting down tax increases, came as the cash-strapped state faced school closings, teacher layoffs and cuts in health benefits, the LA Times reports. In a stunning about-face for voters historically hostile to taxes of all sorts, measures to raise the state's corporate income tax as well as income taxes on households earning more than $250,000 a year and individuals earning more than $125,000 appeared to have won readily. Other state legislatures facing similar budget crises watched the Oregon vote closely, and may now consider crafting similar measures. (More Oregon stories.) Report an error