Gov. Paul LePage, who was re-elected Tuesday, said lowering income and estate taxes for Maine’s higher earners is part of his second-term agenda.
In an interview with the Bangor Daily News, LePage said he plans to make the proposal, which also will include eliminating taxes on pensions, in the biennial budget in January 2015.
LePage said the tax cuts would encourage more people in the upper-income bracket who own homes in Maine to live here year-round, instead of declaring out-of-state residency to pay lower taxes.
“If we keep them here, we keep their capital here,” LePage said. “Keeping their capital here keeps their families here and they can help their family members develop small businesses.”
LePage said he also wants to help Maine’s paper industry by pushing for natural gas expansion, which would help stabilize energy prices. He added that he would want the Maine Technology Institute to develop a bond package that would allow paper mills to automate.
