Next time you’re grumpy about your company’s taxes, take heart: The corporate tax climate here really isn’t so bad.

Tax burden for companies in Oregon and Washington, each of which has a piece of greater Portland, is lower than in most other states, according to the Tax Foundation. Ranking states for “best business tax climate,” the Foundation places Oregon 9th and Washington 12th.

Similarly, accounting experts at Ernst & Young, who calculate “total effective tax rate” by taking into account property, receipt and sales and income taxes, cite Oregon’s as second-lowest in the U.S., at 3.8%; Washington’s is 5.8%. Delaware’s total effective tax rate is the nation’s lowest, at 3.5%, and Alaska’s the highest, at 11.6%.

Greater Portland companies have another tax advantage on either side of the Columbia. Oregon has no sales tax, which can be a boon for companies making big equipment purchases. And Washington has no state income tax, a selling point for prospective employees.

More tax facts:

Oregon’s corporate income tax rate of 6.6% is 16th-lowest in the nation. California’s rate of 8.8% ranks it seventh-highest.
Oregon collects $120 per capita in corporate taxes, while California hauls in $286.

Though the global economic galaxies are aswirl, Oregon stars are rising.

When Fortune released its annual public company rankings last month, Precision Castparts (no. 444) garnered a deserved round of hurrahs for its debut, having joined Oregon’s other Fortune 500 company, Nike (no. 153).

It wasn’t the only good showing. Of the six Oregon companies that now rank among the Fortune 1000, each rose from its last-year placement.

Among them, shining like the metals it recycles, was Schnitzer Steel, Oregon’s 102-year-old scrap metal recycler, which made the biggest jump, from no. 901 to no. 757, with revenues of $2.6 billion.

And Schnitzer continues to rise. In Q2 of fiscal year ’08, revenues increased 24% and profits 29%. Q3 looks even brighter. Shares have gone up 8% this year.

“The scrap metal business hasn’t looked this good in years,” notes Barron’s blogger Bob O’Brien. “You know you’re in a rising commodity environment when even junk has gotten expensive.”
Metrofactual Department of Kudos
Beer.We know about all about greater Portland’s prolific brewpubs (Metrofactual v.7). Now here’s big news about their brews: They’re really good. That’s what judges concluded at last week’s 2008 World Beer Cup, where greater Portland breweries claimed more medals (nine) than those of any other city in the world.
With nearly 3,000 beers vying for recognition, Bridgeport, Hopworks, Pyramid, Widmer and Laurelwood brews were among the 268 that took home awards.

Bikes. The League of American Cyclists has blessed greater Portland with the coveted platinum rating as a “Bicycle Friendly Community” – the first large U.S. metro to gain the designation.
The award is a big precious-metal step up from the gold we received in 2003.
“Bold leadership, community-wide involvement, and a lot of hard work have resulted in a 144% increase in bicycle use since the 2000 Census – impressive results by any standard,” says League president Andy Clarke.

Buddies. When Metrofactual welcomed Vidoop here a few weeks back, the Tulsa computer-password software firm was bringing an engineering group to Portland. Now the whole of Vidoop is pulling up its Oklahoma stakes and heading for a new home in Portland’s Old Town.
With eROI sharing its building, Jive Software a few blocks away, and greater Portland’s 13,420 software workers to make them feel at home, Vidoop’s transition should be an easy one. Check them out. Or go find them hanging at Backspace coffee shop.

It’s cheap. Overall, electricity in greater Portland averages just 7.49 cents per kilowatt-hour, eminently affordable by California metro standards (check out San Diego’s whopping 15.07 c/kWh). Our industrial rate of 5.83 is also a relative bargain: Los Angeles companies pay 8.78 cents/kWh, while their San Diego neighbors shell out a steep 10.40 cents/kWh.

It’s reliable. In greater Portland, we’ve averaged 0.8 major outages per year for the last five years. Seattle’s experienced twice that, and San Francisco has had more than six times the outages, at 5.2 per year. Our outages, too, are smaller than others’: In a typical year we lose 122 megawatts, while Seattle loses 323MW and San Francisco 933MW.

It’s green. Statewide, 75% of Oregon’s power comes from hydroelectric and other renewable sources, and Washington does slightly better at 78%. Less than 5% of the mix in each of Oregon and Washington comes from gas and coal. In California, renewables make up 33% of the mix.
More Metrofacts:

Greater Portland’s industrial electricity prices rank fourth-lowest and commercial rates fifth-lowest among the metros noted above.
Statewide, Oregon’s natural gas is a relative bargain as well, with rates 11% lower than California’s and 16% lower than Washington’s.
The cost of power is the number two concern of small businesses, says the National Federation of Independent Business. Number one? Health care.

Sources: State Electricity Profiles, 2006, Energy Information Administration; Electric Power Monthly, March 2007, Energy Information Administration; EIA Form EIA-417; Small Business Problems and Priorities Survey, 2008, National Federation

Here’s a test of your awareness of greater Portland’s competiveness.

1. In the next five years, greater Portland’s population is projected to grow by:
a) 2% b) 4% c) 6% d) 8%

2. In the company of Seattle, Denver, Austin, San Francisco and L.A., greater Portland ranks No. 1 on which of these metrics? (Hint: there’s more than one.)

a. Lowest cost of living
b. Most public wi-fi spaces
c. Lowest one-bedroom apartment rent
d. Least hours of traffic delay
e. Most brewpubs (duh!)

3. San Francisco has the greatest concentration of same-sex couples, compared with the metros listed below. Which metro ranks second?
a. Los Angeles
b. Portland
c. Denver
d. San Diego
e. Seattle

4. Which metro’s gross regional product is projected to grow faster than that of greater Portland in the next five years?
a. L.A.
b. Seattle
c. Denver
d. San Francisco
e. none of the above

5. Greater Portland had more inventor patents in 2007 than all but which metro:
a. San Francisco
b. Seattle
c. Los Angeles
d. Austin
e. Denver

6. The median housing price in greater Portland is:
a. about one-third that of San Jose’s
b. nearly $100,000 less than Seattle’s
c. half as much as L.A.’s
d. all of the above

7. Greater Portland’s Class A office space is (choose one):
a. more expensive than Denver’s.
b. two-thirds the cost of Seattle’s.
c. least expensive of the competitors (Denver, Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Austin).

Quiz answers
1. d. The region is projected to have 2.4 million residents by 2013.
2. d, e. Compare greater Portland’s annual traffic delay of 38 hours with Austin’s 49, San Jose’s 54 or L.A.’s 72.
3. b
4. e
5. d. Greater Portland had 2,987; Austin had 7,540.
6. d
7. b. At $25.30 per square foot, it’s a bargain. Only Austin’s is cheaper.

The Portland area’s microbrew cluster, anchored by longtimers such as Bridgeport, Widmers and McMenamins, offers up a total of 49 microbreweries and brewpubs, scattered from Vancouver to Clackamas to Hillsboro.

Make that an even 50, starting May 2, when Bend-based Deschutes Deschutes opens its hip-cool new brewery in Portland’s Pearl, across from the Gerding Theatre.

Deschutes invested a reported $5 million to renovate an auto body shop that now includes a grain silo nestled into the building’s roof, tables crafted from massive reclaimed beams, and a brewhouse that was trucked across the country from North Carolina to brew 650 gallons per batch here in Portland.

Deschutes expects the new brewery to produce 130,000 gallons of beer annually for Portlanders. And we expect to drink them.

Check out Deschutes’ April 26 pre-opening benefit for Oregon Trout, whose good work helps clean up our rivers and streams.

More Metrofacts:

Where there’s beer, there’s pizza.

Greater Portland, with 352 pizza places, is the pizza capital of the West.

With 16 pizza joints per 100,000 residents, the metro area outranks Seattle (with 13), L.A. (10) and San Francisco (a mere seven).

The US Census Bureau’s just-released population estimates for metropolitan areas suggest we’re a nation of sun seekers.

Of the 50 major US metros, 43 added residents in 2006, with the biggest gainers dotting the Sun Belt. Topping the list were Dallas, Atlanta, Phoenix, Houston, and Riverside-San Bernadino, California. Of the 10 most moved-to metros in ’06, four were in Texas.

Then there are those, Portland among them, that are defying the trend and attracting residents with amenities other than relentless sunshine. In the top 15, joining the southern metros were Chicago, Denver, Seattle, Washington, D.C., and Portland.

While the greater Portland region’s growth was a modest 2% from 2006-2007, Charlotte, Austin and Raleigh grew at the fastest clip – more than 4% each. The US overall grew by 1%.

The Portland region welcomed some 41,000 new residents in 2006 – nearly the same number that moved to twice-our-size Washington, D.C. The increase puts our estimated total at 2,175,113 residents and makes us the 23rd-largest major metro in the US.

More Metrofacts:

Biggest population losers in 2006 were the Rust Belt metros of…

Detroit (-27,000 residents)
Cleveland (-9,000 residents)
Pittsburgh (-7,500 residents)
Buffalo (-5,000 residents)

Don’t bet on the weather? So much for conventional wisdom.

Venture capitalists regionally and nationally are throwing great heaps of money into the sun and wind, as renewable energy becomes the new rock star of sectors for investors.

Investment in the “energy/industrial” sector nationwide grew at a wind-whipped rate of 261% from 2002-2007, according to PWC MoneyTree. And in the Northwest (Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming), it’s been a gale force, with the growth of venture capital to energy firms soaring off the charts at 3,924%.

Renewable energy firms in the Northwest drew $158 million in 2007, while nationwide the sector attracted nearly $3 billion.

The Portland-Vancouver region is positioned to grow its portion of those dollars, especially as our solar cluster gains momentum (SolarWorld, Solaicx, Mr. Sun Solar). Solar companies, according to the Business Journal, have pumped nearly $500 million into Oregon’s economy in the last few years.

More metrofacts:

Venture capitalists’ favorite sectors in 2007 were…

software ($5.2 billion national, $316 million Northwest).

biotech ($5.2 billion national, $265 million Northwest).

medical devices ($3.9 billion national, $198 million Northwest).

Conducting a comprehensive study of the nation’s arts and culture industry, the advocacy organization documented that nonprofits alone generate $166.2 billion in economic activity annually and provide 5.7 million FTE jobs.

That’s sweet for Portland, which ranks sixth among the top 50 US cities for arts-related businesses, non- and for-profit, per thousand residents. With Portland home to some 2,194 arts businesses, from museums, symphonies, theaters and dance studios to film, architecture and advertising companies, we’ve got ourselves a powerful economic steam engine.

“Most Americans understand that the arts improve our quality of life,” says Americans for the Arts CEO Robert L. Lynch. “This study demonstrates that a vibrant arts and culture industry helps local businesses thrive.”

Arts in America’s newest study, Creative Industries, documents both non- and for-profit arts businesses and workers in communities across the US. To find out how they stack up, check out http://www.artsusa.org/information_services/research/services/creative_industries/default.asp

More metrofacts:

While San Francisco, LA, Denver and others saw a decline in arts businesses from 2006-2007, Portland’s increased by 1%.
Among the Portland-metro region’s artsy businesses are 110 tattoo parlors.

That’s what Popular Science set out to determine as it rated 50 US cities on overall greenness, using census and other government data to measure more than 30 factors including air quality, renewable energy use, transportation habits, open space, recycling, and green-certified buildings.

Which city emerged greenest of all? Why, that’d be Portland.

Looking especially strong for our use of renewables, alternative modes of transit (we do like our hybrids), green buildings, green space and green thinking (“how important a city’s citizens consider environmental issues”), the greater Portland metro area topped the list of 50 cities, prompting Popular Science editors to declare, “America’s top green city has it all.”

Ranking No. 2 through 5 were San Francisco, Boston, Oakland and Eugene. Chicago, which has famously been waving its “greenest city” flag, ranked No. 9. America’s 50 greenest cities

More metrofacts:

* Leading the nation in hybrid cars per capita, greater Portland area residents purchased 5,792 hybrids in 2007. Hybrid cars in U.S.

* Our region is also the LEED leader in the nation, with 16 buildings certified by the US Green Building Council.

Nearly 17,000 area commuters (about 2% of all) pedal to the office, according to the 2006 US Census. And the two-wheeling trend continues to gain traction. The number of bicycle commuters here more than doubled from 2000 to 2006.

If you add to that our walkers, the greater Portland area’s non-motorized commuters place us fourth nationally for highest percentage of people walking or biking to work. Top three are New York, San Francisco and Boston.

As we huff and puff to work, it’s good to know we’re breathing relatively clean air. According to Bizjournal’s Stress Index, which ranks 50 major metros on several quality-of-life metrics, the air in Multnomah County is considered “unhealthy” a mere half-day a year.

Portland’s overall Stress Index ranking puts us in the middle of the pack of 50, with unemployment and cost of housing, in particular, ratcheting up our stress. Detroit rates as the nation’s most stressful city.

More metrofacts:
Nearly 6% of greater Portlanders telecommute to work — the second-highest rate (next to San Diego’s) in the country.
Since 2000, telecommuting in the greater Portland area has increased by 45%.