Lots More People Don't Have to Pay the Arts Tax

It looks like people who get most of their income from Social Security, PERS and state non-taxable sources do not have to pay the new Arts Tax if their other income is under $1,000 per year.

Jennifer Anderson of the Portland Tribune reports:

Mayor Charlie Hales' office said Tuesday that a new analysis shows some people who have received most or all of their income from Social Security or the Public Employees Retirement System have paid the tax. And those types of income are not taxable by the city.

This means some people who have paid the arts tax are eligible for refunds

Here's the City's refund information:

Refund requests
It is possible that you may have paid the Arts Education and Access Income Tax (Arts Tax) when you did not have to. Examples of payment in error include, but may not be limited to:
1. You unintentionally paid more than once.
2. You were not a resident of Portland during the 2012 calendar year.
3. Your only income is from Social Security benefits; pension benefits paid by the Oregon Public Employees Retirement System (PERS) or the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS); or interest income from US Treasury bill notes and bonds.
4. You live in a household with combined income above the federal poverty guidelines, but you personally have less than $1,000 of income.
5. Your household is at or below the federal poverty guideline.

UPDATE: The Social Security, PERS, etc., exemptions are not yet mentioned on the City's Exemptions information page.  They are only listed on the Refund Requests page.  Early payers were penalized by not being given full information on whether they actually owe the tax--and that holds true for current payers who don't have the right news sources.