Here's a small news story that should not come as much of a surprise for those of us living in the Portland Oregon Area. As a bankruptcy attorney I'm on the ground floor of seeing these changes and am surprised that its just now hitting the news. According to equifax Portland is 5th in small business bankruptcy filings following such large metro's as Los Angeles, Sacramento and Atlanta. As you can imagine real estate is the primary driver for the filings. Builders, contractors, real estate companies and mortgage companies have all been imploding up here for some time. The businesses that relied on those businesses have now started to collapse as well.
Without getting too political, I wish that the State of Oregon would do more to foster new business and create a climate where one can start, grow and mature a business. Instead the legislature decided to raise personal income taxes and business taxes by hundreds of millions of dollars. I cannot see how this will stem the tide of bankruptcy filings by small business nor do I see the new taxes as a way to bring more business to the State of Oregon or the Portland Area. My guess is we'll see more articles like this one showing what a poor State this is to do business in, but what do I know?...I'm just a bankruptcy lawyer in Portland.
Live with Passion
Portland Oregon Ranks Number 5 in Small Business Bankruptcy Filings
August 16, 2009
