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 their income in taxes than the middle class, and the middle class should pay a larger share of their income in taxes than the poor. Like every other state in the U.S., Maine’s state and local tax system is not progressive, or even proportional with respect to income, but regressive. This article summarizes recent changes to income, sales, and property taxes that have made Maine’s state and local tax system more regressive.