Issues
Property Tax

Info

• 9/1/06 2006aug.pdf (application/pdf Object)
  Maine Residents Property Tax and Rent Refund “Circuit Breaker” Program
  The Maine Residents Property Tax and Rent Refund “Circuit Breaker” Progam began on August 1,  2006. Applications for refunds of property tax assessed or rent paid during 2005 will be accepted through May 31, 2007. The General portion of the program provides refunds of up to $2,000 to persons of any age whose household income for 2005 was not more than $77,000 for single-member households and not more than $102,000 for those who lived with a spouse or dependent(s). To qualify for a refund, the 2005 property tax must be more than 4 percent of household income or the rent paid must be more than 20 percent of household income.

• 8/8/06 NAToday.net News - News Briefs
  COSTS OF OPEN SPACE VS. DEVELOPED LAND USES

• 3/16/2006 Appraisal Vision Assessor's Database
  Appraisal Vision Assessor's database for the town of Harpswell.

• 3/16/2006 Harpswell, Maine -- Assessment Data
  You may view assessment date for 2002 and 2003. The data only provides assessment data. It has no information about taxes.

• 3/16/2006 Property Tax Division
  of Maine Revenue Services. Learn about the refund you can get if you pay more than 4% of your income on property taxes

• 3/16/2006  Maine Revenue Services Home
  Information about many of Maine state taxes

• 3/16/2006 Title 36 - TAXATION
  Maine Tax Code

• 3/15/2006 Maine Municipal Association - Homeowner's Guide to Property Tax in Maine
  Property taxes in Maine generate $1.8 billion a year to fund local government services. Of the three major taxes – income, sales and property – used to fund Maine state and local governments, property taxes comprise the larger slice of the revenue pie. Property taxes currently account for 44% of the revenues in Maine generated by the three major taxes. The income taxes (corporate and personal) generate 33%, and the sales tax generates 23% of the total.

• 3/16/06 Maine state taxes.
  Good summary (I think) of Maine taxes as well as the other states.

• National Tax Rates from Buffalo First Business
  New figures from the U.S. Census Bureau confirm what many New Yorkers already knew in their hearts: State and local tax burdens are heavier in this state than in any other.
  The bureau totaled up the money collected by all states, counties, cities, towns, villages and special districts during the 2001-02 fiscal year, then divided those revenues by the population in each state.
  New York's state and local

  l governments earned the dubious honor of first place by collecting $4,645 in taxes from each man, woman and child across the state. Only two other states finished above $4,000 in per capita tax revenues: Connecticut and New Jersey.

News

• 6/28/06 TABOR the best way to manage state tax burden
  It is ironic that the same day (June 22) that the Morning Sentinel (rightfully) criticizes Gov. John Baldacci for trying to shift the property tax burden from residential to commercial property owners, it ignores what is the best solution for real reform: Voting for the Taxpayer Bill of Rights this November as recommended by Penelope Morrell in her letter to the editor on the same page. Thousands of other Mainers, disgusted by our status as the highest taxed state per capita income, agree. This carefully crafted measure puts taxpayers in charge instead of the spenders.

• 07/07/06 TaxCap.pdf (application/pdf Object)
  FISCAL EFFECTS OF A ONE-PERCENT PROPERTY TAX CAP ON MAINE MUNICIPALITIES AND THE STATE GOVERNMENT; Margaret Chase Smith Center for Public Policy and Department of Resource Economics and Policy; University of Maine

• Business equipment tax should be eliminated
   

• 8/13/05 Reform fails to lower taxes for many
  The Legislature's much-heralded promise of tax relief is producing mixed results six months after lawmakers passed a law to rein in property taxes. Cities and towns in southern and coastal Maine set new tax rates that are dropping in some cases but rising in almost as many others. (Includes examples)

  4/12/05 Maine ranks tops in taxes in U.S. again - online editor
  AUGUSTA - The smell of rawhide was in the air Monday at the State House as Mary Adams pulled out a horse bridle to convince the Legislature's Taxation Committee her Maine Taxpayer Bill of Rights was the best hope of bringing state spending under control.

• 4/11/05 Tax-friendly places 2005 - Apr. 11, 2005
  NEW YORK (CNN/Money) – When you travel from state to state, some differences are readily apparent: the landscape, people's accents, use of the word "dude," you name it.

• 2/20/05 Further tax-relief measures head to Senate
  AUGUSTA — The Legislature's big push to control property taxes came two weeks ago, when lawmakers passed a tax-relief bill that Gov. John Baldacci quickly signed into law. But several related bills are still working their way through the legislative process, and two of them got a big boost last week. The House of Representatives has strongly endorsed two constitutional amendments that would provide tax breaks for homes and fishing-related waterfront property. Both amendments will go to the Senate, where passage is possible but not certain.

• 1/21/05 Baldacci signs ´historic´ tax relief measure

• 1/20/05 Lincoln County News Baldacci’s Tax Bill
  Business leaders say the governor’s tax bill working its way through the Legislature this week doesn’t go far enough to control spending or reduce the size of government.

• 1/20/05 Property tax plan looks like best option for now editorial
  The state's new property tax reform bill now being debated in the Legislature is not ideal, but it is at least the start of honest-to-goodness property tax relief in Maine.

• 1/20/05 WMTW.com - News - State Legislators Pass Property Tax Package
  AUGUSTA, Maine -- Maine lawmakers Thursday night gave final approval to a wide-ranging property tax relief measure.
  Gov. John Baldacci expressed satisfaction with the legislative outcome and plans to sign the package Friday afternoon

• 1/16/05 Tax-reform plan imperfect, but well worth pursuing
  Editorial

• 1/14/05 Augusta to address property taxes
  Last April this paper reported on the property revaluation conducted by the city of Portland, and the resulting dramatic increases in assessed value, the basis for figuring the rate of local property taxes.

• 1/13/05 Tax panel prepares for final voting
  AUGUSTA, Maine — As property tax relief advocates try to build support for a special panel´s plan, an outside analysis commissioned by business groups asks if the focus of the politically charged effort in the Legislature is too narrow.

• 1/12/05 Level of relief depends on earnings, address
  AUGUSTA — A property-tax reform package that has the support of Gov. John Baldacci and members of a special bipartisan committee is now in front of the full Legislature. Lawmakers from around the state are going through the multi-faceted proposal as they prepare for a vote on the legislation next week. But as the debate focuses on one detail or another, some Mainers are asking what the reform plan would mean for them.

• 1/12/05 School Funding Proposal Revised
  AUGUSTA — A tax reform package based on increasing state aid to education over four years passed 12-3 out of committee Monday night after changes were made to the funding formula to assure no communities lose aid next year.

• 1/12/05 Degree of bipartisanship seen differently across partisan divide
  AUGUSTA, Maine — When a 12-member majority of the 15-member Joint Select Committee on Property Tax Reform agreed on a wide-ranging tax policy measure late Monday, Democrats were quick to note the extent of support that had developed across party lines.

• 1/8/05 Property tax relief phase-in is an area of disagreement
  — A special tax reform panel has reached a broad consensus on spending caps, expanded refunds and other measures to ease Maine's property tax burden, but Republicans were pressing for faster phase-in of funding for local schools, officials said Saturday.

• 1/7/05 Proposed spending caps ignite debate
  AUGUSTA -- The issue of spending caps -- how tough, how flexible and how to override them -- is part of the tax-relief puzzle that's taking center stage as lawmakers continue deliberations on a tax-relief plan.

• 1/6/05 New School Dollars Won't Help Coastal Towns For Special Needs
  Communities with high property values -- like those along the coast -- will get a mixed bag of property tax relief from the governor's proposed tax reform legislation, and some will actually lose state aid, according to education funding numbers released on Tuesday.

• 1/5/05 Will tax relief reach the coast?
  AUGUSTA (Jan 5, 2005): Communities with high property values -- like those along the coast -- won't get much property tax relief from the governor's proposed tax reform legislation. They could get help, however, from some constitutional add-ons being considered, including local option tax breaks or exemptions for primary residences or working waterfront.

• 1/6/05 'Good tax' has basic principles - Bangornews.com Staff
  A good tax? Can there be such a thing? Many factors contribute to why Maine residents find themselves living in a state with high per capita taxes. The overall burden is one issue. But it's a separate issue to consider how the general tax burden - whether heavy or light -

• 1/6/05 Counties issue warning over spending caps; leaders voice optimism
  AUGUSTA, Maine — Maine's top legislative leaders sounded optimistic Thursday that a special tax-reform committee will finish its work _ with unanimous or near-unanimous agreement _ by the deadline looming a week away.

• 1/6/05 Businesses seek tax relief analysis - A. Jay Higgins
  AUGUSTA - A coalition of business associations has hired a nationally recognized accounting firm to conduct an independent analysis of three major tax reform proposals now under consideration by a special legislative panel. PricewaterhouseCoopers, the same company retained by the state to audit the Maine Department of Human Services and other agencies, was retained by the Maine Business Association Roundtable to provide an objective analysis of the plans and their effects on businesses, taxpayers and the Maine economy.

• 1/5/05 Government News - Get in the thick of it Knox County Village Soup
  AUGUSTA (Jan 5, 2005): Communities with high property values -- like those along the coast -- won't get much property tax relief from the governor's proposed tax reform legislation. They could get help, however, from some constitutional add-ons being considered, including local option tax breaks or exemptions for primary residences or working waterfront.

• 1/5/05 Tax panel wants bolder 'circuit breaker'
  But when state officials say "circuit breaker," they're referring to a program designed to help people save money on their property taxes.

• 1/4/05 Unsettled issues remain in property tax study
  AUGUSTA, Maine — Unresolved questions remained Tuesday about key components of a property tax relief bill as the Legislature returned to the State House after a month´s absence to dig into its workload for 2005.

• 1/2/05 Maine GOP has a cure for government's tax-and-spend habits
  John Bayard Anderson was a 20-year Illinois congressman, a lawyer, World War II veteran and 1980 candidate for president. A simple quotation of his about federal spending also aptly characterizes the tax reform debate underway in Augusta.

• 1/2/05 Can Augusta really ignore the law
  "Do you want the State to pay 55 percent of the cost of public education, which includes all special education costs, for the purpose of shifting costs from the property tax to state resources?"

• 1/1/05 Responsible property tax relief without a tax hike - Bangornews.com Staff
  Mainers have spoken - from Down East, to the New Hampshire border, to the St. John Valley, significant property tax reform is needed, and it is needed now. This past campaign cycle, we continuously heard accounts as we traveled across our districts of individuals losing their family homesteads because they simply could no longer shoulder the overwhelming burden of their property tax bills. A considerable amount of time has been spent this past month addressing the matter of property tax reform, and as members of the newly formed Joint Select Committee on Tax Reform, we would like to share with you the progress that has been made to date.

• 1/1/05 One issue, one voice not enough - Bangornews.com Staff
  We all grew up listening to the familiar teacher admonition, "One at a time, please." Whether we were firing questions at an unsuspecting classroom visitor, or trying to be the first to guess the capital of Montana, the concept of just one voice at a time was hammered into our brain.

• 12/30/04 Money issues dominated '04
  EDITOR'S NOTE: In the second of a series, Morning Sentinel staff examine local issues and events of 2004. Today, municipal government and education.

• 12/30/04 Tax reform, meet spending curbs
  AUGUSTA -- A special panel of lawmakers reviewing Gov. John Baldacci's proposal to help property taxpayers discussed ways to curb government spending Wednesday, moving further into a thicket of detail that has swallowed policy explorers in the past.

• 12/29/04 Tax panel sharpens focus
  AUGUSTA, Maine — A special panel of lawmakers reviewing Gov. John Baldacci´s proposal to help property taxpayers discussed ways to curb government spending Wednesday, moving further into a thicket of detail that has swallowed policy explorers in the past.

• 12/26/04 Is it finally time for tax reform
  Press Herald editorial

• 12/26/04 Simplest form of homeowner's property tax relief - Bangornews.com Staff
  Next to the state providing its fair share for the costs of education, as mandated by the voters in the June referendum, the simplest and fairest form of property tax relief is the Homestead Exemption program.

• 12/15/04 Committee begins work sessions on tax bills

• 12/10/04 GOP wants constitutional spending cap - A. Jay Higgins
  AUGUSTA - Republican lawmakers plan to introduce next week stricter government spending caps than those proposed in Gov. John E. Baldacci's tax relief plan. They also will call for those more stringent caps to be protected under the Maine Constitution. "We plan to adopt the spending caps proposed by the Maine Chamber of Commerce and we want it to be in the form of a constitutional amendment," assistant House Republican leader Joshua Tardy of Newport said Thursday.

• 12/9/04 BETR funding change cuts tax burden - A. Jay Higgins
  AUGUSTA - Supporters of Gov. John E. Baldacci's proposed tax relief legislation maintained Wednesday that Maine's overall tax burden would creep downward immediately by a modest two-tenths of a percent as a result of new accounting language built into the bill. Martha Freeman, executive director of the Maine State Planning Office, said Maine's Business Equipment Tax Reimbursement program is covered as an expenditure under the state's General Fund. Under LD 1, the $80 million program would be funded from state income tax revenues received by Maine Revenue Services.

• 12/7/04 Committee set to build consensus on tax plan
  AUGUSTA -- A lawyer, a social worker, a farmer, a retired meteorologist and a forester will represent central Maine on the committee that meets for the first time today to work on tax reform.

• 11/8/04 Scrutiny of Baldacci tax plan tightens
  AUGUSTA, Maine — Republican lawmakers were taking soundings Wednesday to test reaction to Gov. John Baldacci´s tax relief proposal and the potential for offering an alternative.

• 11/25/04 Baldacci readying tax policy package
  AUGUSTA, Maine — Gov. John Baldacci is getting ready to put forth a new package of policy proposals that he has pledged will respond to popular calls for taxpayer relief.

• 11/27/04 Politicians outline tax reform debate
  FARMINGTON -- Two recently re-elected Farmington legislators assured selectmen this week that tax reform will be tackled aggressively in the new session.

• 11/27/04 Agendas pose a challenge to tax-reform efforts
  The behind-the-scenes talks have started as Gov. Baldacci and Augusta lawmakers try to get a jump on the tax-reform debate prior to the start of the next Legislature. Despite these good intentions, the issue could linger for months to come.

• 11/25/04 Education bill passes, but money still short
  WASHINGTON — Congress has finally updated rules for educating disabled students, but funding for special education continues to lag badly, costing Maine $70 million a year.

• 11/25/04 Politicians outline tax reform debate
  FARMINGTON -- Two recently re-elected Farmington legislators assured selectmen this week that tax reform will be tackled aggressively in the new session.

• 11/22/04 Tax reform is state's top priority, lawmakers agree
  AUGUSTA -- Although the Legislature isn't known for making lightning-fast decisions, Statehouse insiders say all the elements are in place for quicker-than-normal action on tax reform.

• 11/21/04 Tax system overhaul must fix three key areas
  Having dodged - at least for the moment - the Palesky bullet, our political leaders can now honestly say to the voters, "OK, now you've really got our attention." Tax reform has risen to the top of public pronouncements by the governor and legislative leaders, with promises of a proposal on the table by January and of achieving reform by the end of the coming session.

• 11/15/04 Maine Municipal Association - Homeowner's Guide to Property Tax in Maine
  Property taxes in Maine generate $1.3 billion a year to fund local government services. Of the three major taxes – income, sales and property – used to fund Maine state and local governments, property taxes comprise the larger slice of the revenue pie. Property taxes currently account for 39% of the revenues in Maine generated by the three major taxes. The income taxes (corporate and personal) generate 37%, and the sales tax generates 24% of the total.

• 11/13/04 Magic City Morning Star Davis Submits Legislation for Tax Reform
  AUGUSTA -- Senator Paul Davis, Sr. (R-Sangerville) officially introduced legislation on Thursday to provide property tax relief for Maine citizens and to make increases in state spending more difficult.

• 11/13/04 Circuit breaker program helps strapped York property owners