LePage: Tax, power incentives will lure big cos. to Maine
Gov. Paul LePage proposed in his third annual State of the State address a new business incentive program called “Open for Business Zones,” which would give reduced energy prices and lower taxes to large companies coming to the state.
The Bangor Daily News reported the program includes some elements of the existing Pine Tree Development Zone program, but would only apply to companies investing $50 million or more and employing at least 1,500 people. The paper reported a staff member in the governor’s office said the goal of the program would be to attract an employer like Seattle-based Boeing, who in November received $8 billion in tax incentives from the state of Washington through 2040, according to The Seattle Times.
LePage used the annual speech to call for prohibiting alcohol and tobacco purchases with money from the federally funded Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program and restricting that money to in-state purchases only. The governor also introduced plans to add more state prosecutors and judges for drug cases in an effort to fight drug-related crimes and violence and proposed a statewide referendum asking voters whether they approve of a $100 million cut in state spending that would, in turn, reduce taxes by $100 million.
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