OAR 123-674-0600
Compensation & Wage Standards

For purposes of ORS 285C.160 (Agreement between firm and sponsor for additional period of exemption) and a qualified business firm subject to a written agreement described in OAR 123-674-0700 (Written Agreement between Sponsor and Eligible Business Firm):
(1) In order for the firm to receive the additional one or two years of exemption on qualified property inside any enterprise zone not excluded by OAR 123-674-0500 (EXTENDED TAX ABATEMENT — General Points)(5):
(a) Wages received on average must equal or exceed the Current County Wage, but only:
(A) During the additional one or two years; and
(B) If the written agreement was executed on or after October 6, 2017; and
(b) During each year throughout the exemption’s first three years and the additional one or two years, average compensation must equal or exceed:
(A) 150 percent of the Established County Wage; or
(B) 130 percent of the Established County Wage, if:
(i) The written agreement is executed on or after October 6, 2017; and
(ii) When it is executed, any part of the zone is inside a qualified rural county under ORS 285C.050 (Definitions for ORS 285C.050 to 285C.250)(17).
(2) The compensation requirement in subsection (1)(b) of this rule applies only to ‘new employees hired by the firm’ as defined under ORS 285C.050 (Definitions for ORS 285C.050 to 285C.250)(13). That definition is also used here for the requirement of wages received in subsection (1)(a) of this rule, for the sake of convenience, such that both requirements are satisfied by averaging only across “affected employees,” which encompass jobs, positions or persons:
(a) Included as ‘employment of the firm’ according to OAR 123-065-0200;
(b) Created, filled and hired for the first time:
(A) After the date of Application under ORS 285C.140 (Application for authorization)(1), even if an individual filling the job is already employed by the eligible business firm in another position that is refilled within the zone; and
(B) On or before December 31 at the end of the initial, first exemption year; and
(c) For which calculation of their average annual compensation or wages received may include the regular yearly compensation or wages (excluding bonuses or the like) of an applicable position that is temporarily vacant due to unforeseen circumstances for not more than 90 day at any time during the year.
(3) As used in this rule:
(a) “Compensation” includes total calendar-year remuneration (whether taxable or not) for all affected employees in the form of wages, salary, overtime pay, shift differential, profit-sharing, bonuses, commissions, paid vacation, and associated fringe or financial benefits such as life insurance, medical coverage and retirement plans, but excluding:
(A) Free meals, club membership or comparable workplace amenities;
(B) Payroll-based tax or cost mandated by federal, state or local law, such as worker’s compensation, unemployment insurance or the employer’s share under FICA; and
(C) Gratuities or tips, other than what is anyways part of wages received for purposes of employee withholding.
(b) “Wages received” are total taxable income paid to all affected employees and used in calculating amounts withheld or otherwise applicable under ORS chapter 316 for purposes of Oregon personal income taxes of any such person during the calendar year.
(4) As used in ORS 285C.050 (Definitions for ORS 285C.050 to 285C.250)(17) and in identifying qualified rural counties:
(a) “County … outside all metropolitan statistical areas” means an Oregon county other than Benton, Clackamas, Columbia, Deschutes, Jackson, Josephine, Lane, Linn, Marion, Multnomah, Polk, Washington or Yamhill County, or any combination of those counties.
(b) “Total property taxes imposed by all taxing districts within the county are equal to or greater than 1.3 percent of the total assessed value of all taxable property located in the county” is true if the quotient of the respective amounts from the Department of Revenue’s most recently published Oregon Property Tax Statistics (150-303-405) is equal to or greater than 0.013 rounded to the nearest one-thousandth. Those amounts shall be updated as feasible and necessary using more current tax year documentation of the county (excluding urban renewal from the tax figure).

Source: Rule 123-674-0600 — Compensation & Wage Standards, https://secure.­sos.­state.­or.­us/oard/view.­action?ruleNumber=123-674-0600.

123–674–0001
Purpose, Scope and General Process for Businesses Seeking Exemption 123–674–0100
Definitions 123–674–0200
General Employment Terminology and Issues 123–674–0500
EXTENDED TAX ABATEMENT — General Points 123–674–0600
Compensation & Wage Standards 123–674–0700
Written Agreement between Sponsor and Eligible Business Firm 123–674–1000
BUSINESS ELIGIBILITY — Special Business Distinctions 123–674–1100
Basic Eligibility of Firms and Operations 123–674–1200
Ineligible Activities 123–674–1300
Eligible Business Firm with Ineligible Activities 123–674–1400
Gross Receipts Test 123–674–1600
Call Centers and Like Operations 123–674–1700
Headquarter Facilities 123–674–2000
AUTHORIZATION PROCESS — Timely Submission 123–674–2100
Allowably Late Applications 123–674–2300
Initial Processing by Local Zone Manager 123–674–2500
Final Processing 123–674–3000
AUTHORIZATION’S COVERAGE & EFFECT — Being An Authorized Firm 123–674–3100
Limitations on Exemption Relative to Authorization 123–674–3200
Amending the Application/Authorization 123–674–3500
Additional, Concurrent Authorizations 123–674–3700
Renewal of Active Status and Inactive Authorization 123–674–4000
EMPLOYMENT OF FIRMS — Computation of Averages 123–674–4100
Employment Requirement to Qualify Initially 123–674–4200
Diminishing Employment Well beyond the Zone 123–674–4300
Local Waiver of Employment Increase inside Zone 123–674–4600
Maintaining Sufficient Employment 123–674–4800
Sale or Leasing of Exempt Property 123–674–5000
QUALIFIED PROPERTY— Critical Terms 123–674–5100
Eligible Utilization 123–674–5200
Mechanical, Personal and Unqualified Property 123–674–5300
Buildings, Structures and Other Real Property 123–674–5400
Property Already Entered on Rolls 123–674–5500
Obligations for All Leases, Lessors and Lessees 123–674–6000
FILING & COMPLIANCE — Exemption Prior To ‘In Service’ 123–674–6100
Mandatory First-year Claim with Property Schedule 123–674–6200
Filing Latter-year Claims 123–674–6300
Disqualification of Particular Property 123–674–6400
General Firm Disqualification 123–674–6600
PAYBACK IN LIEU OF DISQUALIFICATION — Applicability 123–674–6610
Payment of Tax Savings 123–674–6620
Distribution of Payment among Cosponsors 123–674–6630
Utilization of Payments 123–674–6880
Deferral during Recession 123–674–6885
Additional Conditions with Deferral 123–674–7200
GENERAL LAWFULNESS — Terminology 123–674–7210
Declarations and Responsibilities 123–674–7220
Effect of Event of Noncompliance 123–674–7230
Materiality 123–674–7240
Cure 123–674–7250
Interpretation 123–674–7700
FIRST SOURCE HIRING AGREEMENTS — Coverage 123–674–7710
First-Source Procedures 123–674–7720
Handling Exemption Claims 123–674–7730
Allowing Late Execution of First-Source Agreement 123–674–8000
ZONE BEGINNINGS & ENDS — Designation or Amendment 123–674–8100
Authorization and Zone Termination 123–674–8200
Grandfathering in a Terminated Zone 123–674–8300
Timely Completion of Construction
Last Updated

Jun. 8, 2021

Rule 123-674-0600’s source at or​.us