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Could Oregon’s label of being unfriendly to big business be hurting the local commercial real estate market?

The Oregonian’s reported today that Oregon ranks 38 on the annual survey of . Oregon fell 14 spots from last year, most notably because of Measure 66 and 67, which imposes new taxes on businesses and the upper-income brackets.

Look at the recent decision by the Eugene-based to purchase 22 acres at the Port of Vancouver. Even though the Port cited consolidation and access to the rail line as Farwest’s main reasons for building a new 3,000-square-foot facility on the property, it’s hard not to think that increased corporate taxes in Oregon didn’t have something to do with it.

Why build a new facility if you are consolidating? And why choose the Port of Vancouver for rail car access when the Port of Portland just signed a lease with a new operator for Terminal 6 that stressed rail access as one of its main reasons for coming to Portland?

Farwest has to do what’s best for its company. But I’m sure there are plenty of landlords in the Rivergate Corporate Park that would have welcomed Farwest with open arms.

Fortunately, what Oregon lacks in business friendliness, it makes up for with livability. Oregon ranked No. 4 on the happiness index in the study, and No. 13 in overall health. But all the happiness in the world doesn’t fill vacant spaces or break ground on speculative commercial developments.

While it may even me a misconception that Oregon is bad to do business considering there are low property taxes and low energy prices, the perceived thought is what out of town businesses have to go off of.