State Rep. Kevin Mannix says he wants to kill Oregon’s so-called death tax.

Mannix, a Republican lawmaker from Salem, would like to see voters repeal the inheritance tax.

“You have paid income taxes and property taxes all your life and now the state wants to tax you when you die,” he said.

Mannix is the chief petitioner of Initiative 51 , the “End The Death Tax Act, and is gathering signatures to take the issue to voters in 2026.

The Salem politician is no stranger to successful ballot measures. He’s the chief architect behind Oregon’s Measure 11, the mandatory minimum sentencing requirements passed in 1994. He was first elected to the statehouse in the late 1980s as a Democrat, but later became a Republican. He tried in 2012 to gradually phase-out the state’s estate tax but voters rejected the initiative. This time, he said, feels different.

“I think voters are sick and tired of being taxed to death and not only are they sick and tired of being taxed to death, but after death,” the Republican state lawmaker said. “I think there is an atmosphere of enough is enough.”

Oregon is one of 12 states that taxes people’s estates after they die. The estate tax kicks in for any estate worth more than $1 million, making Oregon’s tax threshold one of the lowest in the nation. It’s also fixed, so the amount doesn’t adjust for inflation. Oregon’s tax rate is also higher than most states. An estate worth more than $1 or $1.5 million can be taxed up to 10%. The federal government also taxes estates but has a $13.9 million exemption per individual.

Supporters of repealing the tax, like Mannix, believe it’s burdensome enough to cause wealthy individuals to flee the state, which means they no longer pay income tax or are making purchases in the state or owning businesses here.

“Repealing the death tax will send a message that we want Oregon to be economically competitive,” he said.

State lawmakers considered a measure, also championed by Mannix, this legislative session that would have increased the estate tax exemption from $1 million to $7 million and also lowered the percent the estate is taxed to a 7% tax. The measure died.

Opponents of repealing the estate taxes note that it applies to the state’s wealthiest individuals and would pull money from the state’s general fund that goes to help pay for a variety of services.

“The estate tax is forecast to raise $663 million in the current budget period,” Daniel Hauser, with the Oregon Center for Public Policy wrote in a letter to state lawmakers during the legislative session. “These funds are needed to boost economic opportunity for all Oregonians through investments in affordable housing, workforce development, and other important services.”

To qualify for the ballot, proponents will have to gather 117,173 signatures.

Their efforts could be complicated by the state’s current financial outlook. President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill has changed the state’s revenue outlook and could slash the state’s general fund by some $888 million in the next two-year budget cycle, which could blow a $373 million hole in the state’s budget.

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2025/09/02/oregon-state-representative-kevin-mannix-estate-tax/