Kitzhaber finds capital gains tax break a hard sale to lawmakers

There wasn't much that Gov. John Kitzhaber and his Republican challenger Chris Dudley agreed on during their gubernatorial face-off in 2010. But both candidates promised voters that they'd cut the state's capital gains tax rate.

For those unfamiliar with the state's tax code, Oregon is home to one of the nation's highest capital gains rates. Our upper bracket is 11 percent, tied with Hawaii for No. 1.

Kitzhaber seemed to be making progress in this area when we last checked. He'd just included a proposal to reduce the tax by about $25 million over two years in his budget. (For more info, just scroll down.)

It didn't work.

To make a long story short, the cut in the capital gains tax got tied to a proposal to reform Oregon's kicker law. For a moment, it seemed that the package, which also included a more robust state rainy day fund, would make it through the Legislature.

Then the Senate heard the House might not have the votes to pass the package. Rather than make politically sensitive votes for no reason, Senate President Peter Courtney kicked the bills to committee purgatory. They never emerged.

For now, this promise looks Stalled.