A coalition of Oregon labor unions and advocacy groups is preparing a 2028 ballot campaign for a tax on the financial assets of the state’s wealthiest residents, with the proceeds intended in part to fund tax credits for lower-income households. The Fight For Our Future coalition filed an initiative Thursday, Oct. 8, called the “Financial Assets Tax on Multimillionaires.” Its members include the Oregon Education Association, the American Federation of Teachers Oregon, the Service Employees International Union Oregon State Council and Oregon’s American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. The proposal would apply to Oregonians with a net worth of at least $30 million and tax financial assets such as bank funds, stocks, bonds, private equity holdings and cryptocurrency. Rates would start at 1% and rise to as much as 1.2% for people with higher net worths. The coalition estimates about 4,500 Oregon households would pay the tax and that it would bring in a net $1.5 billion per two-year state budget cycle. The initiative would also create a refundable state income-tax credit for lower-income residents. Single filers earning less than $45,000 and joint filers earning less than $90,000 would qualify for a credit equal to 30% under the proposal, with smaller credits available at higher income levels, up to $50,000 for single filers and $100,000 for joint filers. The coalition estimates more than 1.3 million taxpayers—about 58% of Oregon filers—would receive a credit. Those tax reductions would cost the state an estimated $1 billion per two-year budget cycle. Coalition leaders say the measure is intended to help offset revenue losses and potential cuts to public services following federal tax and spending changes. Oregon faces projected reductions to social services, including costs associated with federal changes to Medicaid. Supporters also say the proposal would address the difference between wages, which have lagged, and rising profits and wealth. “We pay taxes out of every paycheck and expect those dollars to come back to our communities in the form of good schools, affordable healthcare, safe roads and the services we all rely on,” Oregon Education Association President Enrique Farrera said in a statement. He argued that working families are being asked to manage with less while the wealthiest Oregonians have accumulated more. Candice Williams, executive director of For All Families Oregon Action, said the campaign is also meant to press lawmakers to act on childcare, health care and schools during the 2027 legislative session. “This is not the moment to wait for them to do their jobs,” she said. “It’s the moment to take it to the people and allow the people to choose what’s right for them.” The initiative would tax individuals’ financial assets rather than business revenue or property such as homes and farms. It follows a failed 2024 Oregon ballot measure that would have imposed a 3% tax on businesses’ annual sales above $25 million. The new proposal could also face opposition from business groups and fiscal conservatives, and potentially prompt competing ballot measures. To qualify for the 2028 ballot, proponents must first collect at least 1,000 signatures to sponsor the petition. They would then need signatures equal to 6% of the votes cast in Oregon’s November 2026 governor’s race—a threshold expected to exceed 100,000—before the secretary of state can verify the measure for the ballot.