Recently, a meme denouncing the Portland property tax went viral on social media. This meme showed cartoon faces looking outraged, whilst also saying “We voted to raise taxes on property owners, not renters. Why did our rent go up?”

In short, the idea is that as it now costs more to own a home in Portland, OR – this cost is passed on to those renting. As the housing market is already expensive to begin with, this means that some renters may be priced out of the local housing market and may have to look elsewhere to live.

As is often the case with memes, they have the tendency to over-exaggerate, but there is also an element of reality hidden in them as well. One commenter added “My mom is a single house landlord, and she is starting to get sick of it. “The law treats you like a millionaire with 15 houses and not a disabled retiree that can barely afford window repairs”

Whilst another wrote “About 6 years ago, I had enough loose cash to buy my fiancee’s house in SE. Thought I could rent it out. Then the state changed the landlord tenant law, which really disproportionately hit small landlords, so decided to invest in a more friendly jurisdiction. Glad I did. Portland has gone way downhill and with the eviction moratorium during the pandemic, I would have been in dire straights. Don’t invest in Portland.”

Despite being a famously liberal state, it seems that the residents of Portland are firmly against this tax, which comes after a wave of other tax hikes in the area, including art tax and other rises.