Taxes and Budget Maine House kicks off floor votes by lifting cap on clean syringes, taxing ‘dark stores’ A 2019 report by the Maine Center for Economic Policy (MECEP) found that of the 25 Maine towns with the highest retail sales, 17 had big box stores appeal […] Beacon Posted March 11, 2022 Tags Dark Stores, Property Tax, Tax Breaks, Tax Fairness
Taxes and Budget Opinion: Maine’s leaders must make the most out of historic surplus When a state’s budget fully invests in its people and communities, everyone benefits. Today, Maine has a surplus and policymakers have an opportunity to improve people’s lives, get our […] Beacon Posted March 2, 2022 Tags Budget, Economic Security, Economy, Tax Fairness, Taxes
Taxes and Budget LePage income tax plan punishes poor while enriching wealthy Mainers, advocates say However, economic reports show that LePage-style economics significantly increase taxes for the bottom 80% of Maine families while enriching the wealthiest. In some instances under LePage’s tax policies, Maine’s […] Beacon Posted February 22, 2022 Tags Income Tax, Tax Breaks, Tax Fairness, Taxes
Taxes and Budget Dems looking to add housing, behavioral health funding to budget proposal Some analysts say that while the direct checks will likely prove popular in an election year, the effects will be short lived. “While $500 can mean a […] Beacon Posted February 18, 2022 Tags Budget, Health Care, Housing
Jobs and Income LePage admits Medicaid expansion ‘good for Maine,’ but still wants cuts to program James Myall, a policy analyst with Maine Center for Economic Policy, estimates that roughly 86,000 Mainers currently enrolled in MaineCare would be subject to the requirement if […] Beacon Posted February 17, 2022 Tags Health Care, Job Quality, Medicaid
Taxes and Budget Mills touts one-time payment in address, glosses over housing, overdose, climate crises Some progressive groups criticized the proposal for not prioritizing those Mainers most in need at a time when Maine has seen a dramatic increase in wealth among the state’s […] Beacon Posted February 11, 2022 Tags Budget
Taxes and Budget Sen. King joins Democratic legislators in call for tax fairness at state and federal level Fecteau and Terry spoke about the tax landscape in Maine and the importance of creating a fairer system in the state. During the panel discussion, Sarah Austin, […] Beacon Posted February 2, 2022 Tags Budget, Federal, Tax Breaks, Tax Fairness, Taxes
Jobs and Income Lawmaker seeks to protect workers who take paid time off from retaliation James Myall, a policy analyst with the Maine Center for Economic Policy (MECEP), told Beacon in a recent interview that workers’ fear of using leave was well-documented at the […] Beacon Posted January 31, 2022 Tags Job Quality, Jobs, Paid Sick Days
Taxes and Budget Report: Only a third of PPP money went to the workers it was intended for Keeping in line with previously released data that demonstrated that PPP loans overwhelmingly went to big businesses, the new study found that the loans were inefficient in their […] Beacon Posted January 26, 2022 Tags Budget, Federal, Jobs
Jobs and Income, Taxes and Budget Income of wealthiest in Maine nearly doubled from 2019 to 2020, report shows Sarah Austin, director of policy and research at the Maine Center for Economic Policy, said because there weren’t any big changes to the tax code between those […] Beacon Posted December 2, 2021 Tags Incomes, Inequality, Tax Fairness