Maine State Chamber backs tax reform plan

The Maine State Chamber of Commerce announced Tuesday that it supports some tax reform proposals being trumpeted by Gov. Paul LePage, calling them an “historic opportunity.”

The chamber said in its announcement that the group “strongly supports the underlying principles of current tax reform proposals,” including reductions in the individual and corporate income tax rates and, ultimately, a repeal of the state estate tax. The chamber said it also supports converting qualified business property under the Business Equipment Tax Reimbursement program to the Better Equipment Tax Exemption.

However, unlike LePage, the chamber recommends keeping a property tax exemption for Maine’s nonprofit organizations. Instead, the chamber said it encourages larger nonprofits to pay a voluntary fee to municipalities based on their property holdings, annual revenues and use of municipal services.

The chamber said the tax reform plan will “improve Maine’s economic competitiveness, provide exportability and revenue stability, and that also assist lower-income taxpayers and attract/retain retires to our state.”

More specifically, the chamber said reducing the individual income tax rate will help “rationalize” proposed increases in the sales tax rate. And reducing the corporate income tax rate, the chamber added,” will “make Maine more economically competitive,” allowing the state to attract more businesses that seek to start, relocate or grow here.

“We appreciate Governor LePage’s leadership in advancing these reforms,” Maine State Chamber President Dana Connors said in a prepared statement. “We also appreciate the thoughtful consideration of the proposal’s components by the Legislature’s Tax Committee, as well as in the more recent plan put forward by Democratic Party leaders. The opportunity to modernize Maine’s tax system has never been better.”

Maine Democrats recently revealed a counterproposal to LePage’s tax reform plan. A comparison of the two plans is here.

Correction: The story has been updated to clarify that the Maine State Chamber of Commerce supports some, not all, of Gov. Paul LePage's tax reform proposals.