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Or so Kitzhaber wants you to be aware of.........
http://news.opb.org/article/12321-kitzhaber-ad-takes-aim-dudley/
http://news.opb.org/article/12321-kitzhaber-ad-takes-aim-dudley/
Oregon Democratic gubernatorial candidate John Kitzhaber takes aim at his Republican opponent Chris Dudley in a new television ad that started airing Wednesday.
In it, Kitzhaber accuses Dudley of dodging Oregon taxes by living in Washington state when he played for the Portland Trail Blazers.
Chris Lehman fact-checked some of the claims in the ad.
The ad opens with a series of short clips of people wearing what the Kitzhaber campaign probably wants you to think of as looks of concern on their faces. It’s intercut with a black and white photo of Chris Dudley as an announcer tells us what everybody seems to be so concerned about.
Voiceover from ad: “OK, the job is governor and you’re hiring. You can hire Chris Dudley who has never managed anything. Never tried to create jobs to help Oregon’s families. And never shown much interest in Oregon. Because Dudley lived in Washington to avoid paying taxes that support our schools and health care.” Let's tackle that last claim.
Dudley spent 16 years in the NBA including two stints with the Portland Trail Blazers. It was during the first go-round -- a four season run in the mid-90’s -- that Dudley lived across the river in suburban Clark County. And by his own admission, Dudley lived there for tax purposes.
Here he is speaking during a debate broadcast on KGW television in April.
Chris Dudley: “I was 26, 27 years old. My accountant said you would save some dollars if you lived over here, and by the way, you’re 20 minutes from the arena and you’re living on a lake. So I did it.”
But the Dudley campaign points out what any cross-border commuter knows: that living in Washington and working in Oregon doesn’t get you out of paying Oregon income taxes.
Dudley’s campaign says the basketballer paid $460,000 in Oregon taxes during that time.
Of course, Dudley was not required to pay Oregon property taxes on his half-million dollar Washington home. And the state of Oregon would not have taxed him on any non-Oregon capital gains he earned while living in Washington.
The Dudley campaign did not provide an estimate on how much those taxes would have added up to.

