On June 8, the Oregon Senate passed SB 164, which is the 2021 Corporate Activity Tax (CAT) “technical corrections” bill. SB 164 has moved to the House, where it has been referred to the House Revenue Committee. To become law—which is expected—SB 164 will be required to pass out of the House Revenue Committee and the full House before the legislature adjourns later this month.
As passed by the Senate, the A-engrossed version of the bill clarifies that non-Oregon based insurance companies, which are subject to Oregon’s retaliatory tax, are “excluded entities” (for purposes of the CAT) and, thus, not subject to the CAT. In addition, SB 164 fixes a technical issue that has plagued fiscal year filers since the CAT was enacted in 2019. If SB 164 is enacted, fiscal year filers will be required file a short year return for 2021 (from 1/1/2021 to the end of a taxpayer’s 2021 fiscal year), and, for 2022, such taxpayers would file using their fiscal year period. Accordingly, for fiscal year 2022, affected taxpayers’ CAT-filing calendars would mirror their Oregon excise tax return filing calendar. Lastly, SB 164 would also expand the exclusion for certain receipts of vehicle dealers (all receipts from the new vehicle exchanges between franchised motor vehicle dealerships) and provide a narrow carve out for certain receipts from groceries sold on consignment.