The Portland City Council is scheduled to vote on an increase to the business license income tax exemption on Wednesday, April 1st, at 9:30. Doing so will result in a tax decrease for many small businesses within the city. We urge you to let City Councilors know that there is broad support for such an increase by submitting testimony in person or in writing . Click here to submit written comments or register to testify in person. Points to emphasize: Portland is facing very strong economic...

The Portland City Council Finance Committee posted its agenda for Monday's meeting late yesterday. The main topic of discussion will be a public hearing on an ordinance proposed by Mayor Wilson and Councilor Eric Zimmerman to increase the business license tax gross receipts exemption from $50,000 to $75,000 immediately, and to $100,000 in 2027. The exemption hasn't been increased since 2007, and while this is a very modest change, it will benefit an estimated 5,800 businesses--65% of which...

Welcome to 2026, Portland! As we enter 2026, it’s worth saying clearly:  Portland made real progress in 2025.  Not “problem solved” progress — but meaningful movement in the right direction, and that matters. Downtown activity is trending up. Travel Portland reports that  downtown foot traffic increased roughly 5.6% from January through August 2025 compared to the same period in 2024 , reaching its  highest level since the pandemic . Public safety data also showed improvement, with a  30%...