Negotiations between Cherriots officials and local business leaders in Salem have stalled after months of discussing plans to tax employers for transportation improvements. The Salem-Area Mass Transit District, known as Cherriots, formed the task force last October after a coalition of business and real estate groups opposed a plan set into motion by the agency to enforce a payroll tax on local businesses to fund service expansions.

Background

The tax would have raised about $39 million per year starting in 2027 for expanded evening, early morning and weekend buses and other additions. The talks were paused after a meeting on Thursday, June 25, Cherriots said in a statement the following day. Cherriots’ taxing authority comes from legislation passed in 2018 allowing it to impose a wage tax without a public vote.

Jonathan Castro Monroy, a local financial planner and community leader, served on the task force representing the chamber. Castro Monroy said he joined the group on behalf of community members who would be most impacted by the new tax — employers, and eventually local families. Monroy said taxes like the one Cherriots proposed can prompt businesses to raise prices, which would impact those struggling with affordability, including immigrant families, single mothers and senior citizens.

Original reporting: Salem Reporter — read the source article.