PORTLAND, Oregon — Most Portlanders are familiar with the “arts tax,” the annual $35 fee meant to restore arts education in Portland, passed in 2012.
The Arts Access Fund generates millions of dollars each year. In 2025, an Arts Access Fund oversight committee revealed in its annual report that the fund had an $8.5 million reserve balance, a discovery Portland Arts & Culture for Equity publicly criticized after learning of it.
The discovery surprised some local nonprofit arts organizations, which said their funding from the fund has decreased in recent years…