Come November, Oregon voters will face at least two ballot measures initiated by Bill Sizemore, on state taxation and teaching children in English. For now let's consider the one that deals with the income tax.

The secretary of state's office said the measure had unofficially received slightly more than enough signatures to qualify for the ballot in the election that ends Nov. 4. More than 128,000 signatures were turned in but only 83,136 were judged to be valid. It needed 82,769.

So, more than 45,000 signatures, about 35 percent of the total collected, were thrown out as not valid. That number is astonishingly high. It raises new questions about the system the state uses to check signatures.

Considering that petitioners ask people if they are registered voters, and considering that saying no is an easy way to get rid of a pesky signature gatherer, it is surprising that almost four out of 10 people who say yes and sign would be unqualified to do so.

The measure itself would reduce state income taxes for some payers, reduce state revenue as a result, and put the state government in a bind. It would allow taxpayers to deduct all their federal income taxes on their state returns, rather than a limited amount.

This year the limit was $5,500 on a joint return and $2,750 for single filers. So if you paid more than those amounts in federal income tax, passage of the initiative would benefit you personally. But you have to consider the benefit against the cost.

Unless you can think of a bunch of state activities up to and including supporting local schools that you would rather do without, you might want to restrain your enthusiasm for cutting your state income tax obligation via this particular proposal.

Consider also that the state income tax - at rates from 5 to 9 percent, and a flat 9 percent on anything above $7,151 - is modest compared to what the feds take. The federal tax bite ranges from a low of 10 to a high of 35 percent, and that doesn't even count the combined payroll tax of more than 12 percent.

Comparing those rates and what we get from the state and federal governments, you would not think that people want to cut the state first. (hh)