This One Trick Funds Public Safety Without Raising Your Taxes

Have you ever wondered how vital services like education, public safety, and infrastructure get funded here in Marion County? You might think the bulk is paid for by your tax dollars, right? Well, that’s only a piece of the story. The broader answer lies partly in a silent contributor: local businesses.

Businesses here in Marion County play a crucial role beyond creating family wage jobs and paying salaries. They also make a significant contribution to vital public services in our community through property taxes.

Watch this quick explainer video to see how it works!

Unlike residents, who pay taxes based on their home value, businesses pay based on the value of their business property, including warehouses, machinery, and equipment. In Marion County, businesses carry just over 27% of the total property tax burden, easing the load on individual households like you and me. This translates to millions of dollars annually.

Here in Marion County, local businesses pay $37.6 million in revenue to our local school districts every year. This is enough to hire 553 teachers in Salem-Keizer schools thanks to business property taxes! Local businesses also provide $23.2 million in revenue to Marion County every year. This funds the equivalent of 272 sheriff deputies. And $7.4 million in property taxes paid by local businesses to local fire districts is enough to hire 37 firefighters.

Every time you call the fire department, send your child to school, or are protected by the Sheriff’s Department, you're benefiting from the support businesses provide to our community through property taxes.

Without this crucial contribution from local businesses, the tax burden for these services would fall on Marion County residents, increasing their property taxes by as much as $2,000 per year. Instead, local businesses help keep taxes lower for residents and provide a tremendous cost savings to local residents.

So, the next time you see a local business thriving, know that they are not just serving you as a customer, they are supporting our community in more ways than one. This helps to keep Marion County a vibrant place to live, work, and raise a family. In Marion County, buying locally means building locally.

And the more successful our local businesses can become, the more public services we all get to enjoy without any increase in your taxes.