text: Do you expect Wal-mart to swallow the tax or will they increase the cost of products sold in Oregon?  Expect Wal-mart prices to increase by 2.5% - unless there is pyramiding involved in which case price increases will be higher.  The companies that cannot pass along the increase will decrease in profitability.  2.5% of GROSS RECIPTS is enormous fraction of profit which can often run in the 2-5% range.  Those companies cannot survive and the jobs go away.