Taxes and Budget Wealth tax bill addresses defects in our tax code and would increase funding for local services and affordable housing Ensuring fair taxation of wealth should always be a priority, and the pandemic has revealed just how important it is. Mostly low-wage workers on the frontlines of […] Sarah Austin Posted May 24, 2021 Tags Housing, Inequality, Tax Breaks, Tax Fairness, Taxes
Taxes and Budget Repealing tax cuts for the wealthiest estates would reduce inequality, fund investments in communities Our communities and are state are stronger when all Mainers and Maine families have equal opportunities to thrive. But growing inequality is a barrier to opportunity for […] Sarah Austin Posted May 13, 2021 Tags Estate Tax, Revenue, Tax Breaks, Tax Fairness, Taxes
Jobs and Income, Taxes and Budget Speaker Fecteau’s bill would use 3-cent tax on top 1 percent to fund hazard payments for frontline workers Maine’s pandemic experience has looked very different depending on where you stand in today’s economy. Essential frontline workers, many of whom were underpaid and experienced poor working […] Sarah Austin Posted May 12, 2021 Tags Coronavirus, Tax Breaks, Tax Fairness, Taxes, Wages
Taxes and Budget Bills to raise taxes on high incomes would fund long-term investments in people and communities The wealthiest households in Maine have benefitted greatly from recent state and federal tax cuts. The top 1 percent receive over $50,000 a year in tax cuts […] Sarah Austin Posted May 6, 2021 Tags Budget, Income Tax, Revenue, Tax Breaks, Tax Fairness, Taxes
Taxes and Budget Maine can clamp down on corporate tax dodging by targeting tax haven abuse When Maine communities thrive, so do the corporations that do business here. But when profitable corporations build their wealth by exploiting the tax code and hiding their […] Sarah Austin Posted April 14, 2021 Tags Economy, Revenue, Tax Fairness, Taxes
Jobs and Income Pine Tree Development Zones promised jobs but didn’t deliver. It’s time to end them. In 2003, the Maine Legislature created Pine Tree Development Zones, a tax expenditure program designed to spur job creation in economically distressed areas of the state. The […] Sarah Austin Posted March 24, 2021 Tags Jobs, Tax Breaks, Taxes
Taxes and Budget Bill to strengthen EITC would boost incomes for 92,000 Maine families, improve Maine’s tax code The Earned Income Tax Credit, or EITC, is a proven tool to reduce poverty and give kids from families with low incomes a better shot at success […] Sarah Austin Posted March 23, 2021 Tags Children, EITC, Tax Fairness, Taxes
Taxes and Budget Raising taxes on large, profitable corporations will help build strong communities without affecting small businesses Corporations in Maine benefit from our educated workforce, our public roads and other infrastructure, and our clean air and water — not to mention our reputation for […] Sarah Austin Posted March 18, 2021 Tags Revenue, Tax Breaks, Tax Fairness, Taxes
Taxes and Budget Taxing the unearned income of the top 1 percent would help un-rig Maine’s tax code, boost resources for communities Most Mainers get the bulk of their income from wages. But those at the top of our economy often earn money in another way: They often have unearned income, from things like capital gains and […] Sarah Austin Posted March 16, 2021 Tags Budget, Inequality, Revenue, Tax Fairness, Taxes
Maine’s Economy, Taxes and Budget Why is Maine’s revenue picture better than expected? Past recessions wreaked havoc on Maine’s state budget and the COVID recession was expected to do the same. While Maine’s current revenue forecast, finalized in early December […] Sarah Austin Posted March 5, 2021 Tags Coronavirus, Federal, Recession, Revenue, Taxes