AUGUSTA — Gov. Paul LePage says his proposal to eliminate taxes on pension income in the proposed supplemental budget is just another step toward his long-term goal of eliminating the state personal income tax by the time he leaves office.

“That’s what I would like to do,” he said in an interview. “I am not sure we can get there, but that is what I want to do.”

The current top income tax rate is 8.5 percent and will be reduced to 7.95 percent next January.

The governor said he hopes that eliminating the tax on pensions will convince retirees to spend more time in Maine.

“I want to get these people to stay here for 10 months a year, maybe just go down to Florida for two months a year,” he said. “Now they are going down there for six months and a day to avoid our income tax.”

“I want to get these people to stay here for 10 months a year, maybe just go down to Florida for two months a year,” he said. “Now they are going down there for six months and a day to avoid our income tax.”

Advertisement

LePage said he would have proposed lowering the top tax rate to 4 percent this session, but he said the revenue won’t support that step or his intention to eliminate the pension tax. This year Maine is projected to collect more than $1.4 billion from personal income taxes, almost half of all state revenue that is expected to be collected.

Sen. Richard Woodbury, I-Yarmouth, serves on the taxation committee and is an economist. He said simply eliminating the personal income tax would be irresponsible, but a significant reduction in tax rates would help the state’s economy.

“Where I agree with the governor is that the income tax at the level that it is now is a serious economic disincentive in this state,” he said. “We do need to get it lower.”

Woodbury said while some cuts in spending should be part of reaching a lower rate, he believes a rebalancing of the tax mix could achieve the goal of a 4 percent top rate without slashing public services. He said the governor’s proposal to eliminate taxes on pensions is not a good idea.

“Anytime you create a special tax program for one group of taxpayers over another, you end up having to charge higher taxes to everyone else,” Woodbury said.

Rep. Gary Knight, R-Livermore Falls, co-chairman of the legislature’s Taxation Committee supports both the governor’s immediate proposal on pensions and his long-term goal of eliminating the personal income tax.

Advertisement

“Maine is the oldest state in the U.S.,” he said, referring to the average age of the state’s population, “and this is sending a message that we want you to live and retire here.”

Knight said he supports the goal of eliminating the income tax but acknowledges that may not be an achievable goal without increasing some other tax. He said while some believe there will be enough growth in the state’s economy to pay for such a cut, he is not confident of that.

“I am supporting the pension and the military piece because I think it is a good thing to do, but paying for it is an issue the Appropriations Committee will have to consider, and eventually all of us when it comes to the floor,” Knight said.

Rep. Seth Berry, D-Bowdoinham, said he had proposed eliminating the income tax on pensions instead of the estate tax cut that was part of the governor’s tax reduction package last year. He said given the slow growth of the economy, he does not think there will be enough revenue growth to pay for that package, let alone the one being proposed this year.

“That’s another $105 million a year on top of the $150 million,” he said. “It’s outrageous.”

Berry said he supports tax reform, not just tax reduction. He agrees with Woodbury that the income tax rate can be lowered, but only by raising some other tax, and said LePage is yet again seeking to cut taxes without paying for it.

“The M.O. clearly of the governor is, ‘I want to enact future tax giveaways that I don’t have to pay for, and take credit for them now,'” he said.

The pension proposal is included in the governor’s proposed supplemental budget and will be part of the public hearing before the Appropriations Committee starting at 1 p.m. Wednesday.

 


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.