‘Our wealthiest residents have never had it so good’: Bills aim to make tax code more fair

In her testimony, Sarah Austin, tax and budget policy analyst at the Maine Center for Economic Policy, noted that LD 1136 and LD 1443 would only impact the top 4% of earners in Maine while LD 1500 would impact the top 12% of earners.

“These proposals raise income taxes on the wealthiest households, which have benefited greatly from recent state and federal tax cuts, while investments that build opportunity for all Mainers have fallen behind,” Austin explained. “The top 1% benefited from over $50,000 a year in tax cuts on average when you combine state and federal tax cuts in the last decade or so. These happened as Maine’s schools and communities and other vital public services have lacked the resources they need. These proposals would recoup some of these resources to direct back to Maine communities.”

Click here to read the full story, first published May 7, 2021 in Beacon.