Study: Regional Economy Now Mostly People Crossing River to Avoid Taxes
The two states have achieved what researchers call 'perfect arbitrage equilibrium.'
By Marsh Pendleton · Sightings Desk ·
VANCOUVER — A regional economic analysis released Thursday estimates that 40 percent of all traffic between Clark and Multnomah counties now consists of residents of each state traveling into the other to avoid a tax that exists only at home.
Washingtonians cross south to skip the sales tax. Oregonians cross north to buy gas and groceries and, in one documented case, to register a boat at a cousin’s address in Felida.
“The bridge is at capacity, and nobody on it wants to be where they’re going,” said the study’s lead economist, who commutes from Camas for income-tax reasons.
The report concludes the two economies have achieved “perfect arbitrage equilibrium,” a condition in which everyone is saving money and no one is coming out ahead.
Both states’ revenue departments declined to comment, each referring this paper to the other.