Oregon Public Broadcasting

SALEM, Ore. - The first-ever auction of Oregon tax credits drew far less interest than the state was counting on. Bidders purchased fewer than one-third of the available credits, leaving the state more than a million dollars short of the expected proceeds.

The state tried to auction off 1,500 tax credits online worth $1,000 apiece. Here's how it worked: You bid at least $950. The state gets an influx of cash for renewable energy projects. And winning taxpayers make as much as a $50 profit when they file their taxes next spring.

Here's the problem: Only 23 people placed a bid, and they bought less than a third of the tax credits that were available.

Democratic Representative Phil Barnhart co-chaired the legislative committee that came up with the auction idea. He says the agencies that held the auction — Energy and Revenue — may have dropped the ball.

"They may need to go back out and do a little better job of advertising," Barnhart says. "I'm not aware that most people were even aware that this auction existed. I knew about it of course because I'm on their mailing list. But I suspect that a lot of taxpayers who could use it did not."

A Department of Energy spokeswoman says the agency may try to auction off the remaining tax credits in the coming months.

On the Web:

Tax credit auction website:

http://www.oregon.gov/DOR/PERTAX/credit-auction-info.shtml

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