Taxes and Budget Restoring fairness for the Wabanaki requires Congressional action, too The Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians, Passamaquoddy Tribe, Penobscot Nation, and Mi’kmaq Nation are recognized under federal law. But unlike the 570 other federally recognized tribes, these […] Garrett Martin Posted April 20, 2022 Tags Children, Economic Security, Federal, Inequality
Maine’s Economy Roughly 13 percent of Maine’s workforce has filed unemployment claims in the past month On Thursday, the Maine Department of Labor announced that 13,421 Mainers had filed new unemployment claims in the past week, a decline in weekly claims after three […] Garrett Martin Posted April 16, 2020 Tags Coronavirus, Unemployment
Health Care, Taxes and Budget Study embraced by Senator Collins actually affirms that her plan will not prevent people from losing health insurance and paying higher premiums Earlier this week, Avalere health consulting released a report indicating that two proposals advocated by Senator Collins would reduce health insurance premiums. Senator Collins seized on this analysis. In a tweet on December 6, she claimed that the Avalere study “confirms my reinsurance bill & Alexander-Murray proposal would reduce health insurance premiums by 18% in 2019.” Garrett Martin Posted December 8, 2017 Tags Affordable Care Act, Health Care
Taxes and Budget MECEP Tax Calculator The LePage budget would raise taxes by $423 for a family earning $56,000. The Democrats’ Opportunity Agenda would reduce their taxes by $150 and fully fund our […] Garrett Martin Posted April 22, 2017 Tags Taxes
Taxes and Budget Not filing an income tax return? You could be leaving as much as $1,000 on the table! As the deadline for filing income taxes approaches, tens of thousands of Mainers who don’t owe any income tax should still file a return in order to […] Garrett Martin Posted March 31, 2017 Tags EITC, Income Tax
Education, Maine’s Economy, Taxes and Budget The LePage administration’s Q2 analysis gets it wrong Economic impact analysis is not an exact science. It is rife with assumptions. Bad assumptions result in bad analysis. And bad analysis yields bad public policy. Look […] Garrett Martin Posted March 10, 2017 Tags Economy, Education, Taxes
Education, Taxes and Budget No Communities Will Lose Education Funding as a Result of Question 2 Don’t be deceived Sebago, Lincolnville, Greenwood, Bremen, Newry, Machiasport, and Jonesport. Despite Maine Heritage Policy Center’s (MHPC) bogus claim, a “Yes” vote on Question 2 will not […] Garrett Martin Posted October 19, 2016 Tags Education, Tax Fairness, Taxes
Maine’s Economy, Taxes and Budget Focus on sales tax increases obscures the reality of a better deal for Maine people Last year’s budget deal reduced taxes for 83% of Mainers. But the changes don’t happen all at once. And as the Maine media has reported, new sales […] Garrett Martin Posted January 11, 2016 Tags Budget, Taxes
Health Care Health Insurance Coverage in Maine: Heading in the Wrong Direction, Particularly for Children New Census Bureau data released yesterday paint a bleak picture for Maine when it comes to improving access to affordable health coverage Maine is the only state […] Garrett Martin Posted September 17, 2015 Tags Children, Health Care
Maine’s Economy, Taxes and Budget Latest Budget Deal modestly improves Maine’s tax system progressivity, future revenue adequacy less certain Today, state legislators released details of a budget deal that, if passed, would avoid a state government shutdown. The deal includes significant changes to Maine’s tax code. […] Garrett Martin Posted June 16, 2015 Tags Budget, Revenue, Tax Fairness, Taxes