Taxes and Budget Property tax relief falls short in 2013, major policy changes still needed The amount of property tax relief Maine residents claimed under a new state tax credit will fall $9-12 million short of the $34 million forecast, according to […] Joel Johnson Posted June 27, 2014 Tags Property Tax, Tax Fairness, Taxes
Taxes and Budget Testimony at Hearing on LD 1751 An Act to Provide Property Tax Relief to Maine Residents As economists Michael Allen and Dick Woodbury wrote in their 2006 evaluation of Maine’s “Circuit Breaker” property tax relief program, “[the circuit breaker] does more than any […] MECEP Posted February 19, 2014 Tags Property Tax, Tax Fairness, Taxes
Taxes and Budget The Distributional Effects of Recent Changes to Maine’s Tax System Abstract: Both classical economic theory and recent empirical research support the notion that taxes should be progressive: that the wealthiest citizens should pay a larger share of […] Jody Harris Posted December 23, 2013 Tags Tax Fairness, Taxes
Taxes and Budget Eliminating the State Income Tax Would Be Bad for Maine. Here’s Why. At a Blaine House press conference yesterday Governor LePage announced that if elected to a second term, he will seek to eliminate the state income tax. This […] Garrett Martin Posted May 21, 2013 Tags Budget, Income Tax, Tax Fairness, Taxes
Taxes and Budget 5 Ways to Solve Maine’s Budget Crisis and Prevent Property Tax Increases Legislators are working to close a $938 million budget gap that is the result of the worst recession since the Great Depression and unpaid-for tax cuts that […] Garrett Martin Posted May 20, 2013 Tags Budget, Property Tax, Revenue, Tax Fairness, Taxes
Taxes and Budget Governor’s Modest Tax Hike on the Wealthy Won’t Erase His Massive Tax Hikes on Low- and Middle-Income Mainers The latest state revenue forecast shows no end in sight for Maine’s budget crisis. The state’s general fund is expected to bring in $58 million less than […] Joel Johnson Posted May 16, 2013 Tags Tax Breaks, Tax Fairness, Taxes
Taxes and Budget The Governor Misunderstands How Taxes Function Governor LePage’s assertion that the income tax is a “very regressive tax” is stunningly incorrect. A regressive tax is one that takes more taxes as a percentage […] Jody Harris Posted May 14, 2013 Tags Income Tax, Tax Fairness, Taxes
Taxes and Budget Testimony at Hearing on LD 816 and LD 956 Property taxes hit low- and middle-income Maine families hardest, accounting for the greatest share of taxes they pay. The Maine Residents Property Tax and Rent Refund Program, […] MECEP Posted May 6, 2013 Tags Property Tax, Tax Fairness, Taxes
Taxes and Budget New MECEP Report Makes the Case to Improve and Increase Property Tax Relief for Low and Middle Income Mainers “Give Maine’s Working Families a Break: Fix and Fund the Circuit Breaker” calls for expanded benefits and improvements to the application process Augusta, Maine (Monday, May […] Posted May 6, 2013 Tags Property Tax, Tax Fairness, Taxes
Taxes and Budget Give Maine’s Working Families a Break Fix and Fund the Circuit Breaker Property tax increases in Governor LePage’s budget proposal mean more hardship is in store for low- and middle-income property taxpayers who […] MECEP Posted May 3, 2013 Tags Property Tax, Tax Fairness, Taxes