Governor Paul LePage has released a new video detailing his efforts to reduce taxes and create jobs in Maine.
The Governor has made it very clear that two of his main priorities are improving the business climate in Maine, to create jobs and grow the economy, and lifting the incomes of Maine’s working people.
In the short video, he discusses the largest tax cut in Maine history. This tax cut, proposed by Governor LePage and passed by the Legislature after he took office, has reduced the taxes of all working Maine people while providing a hand-up for those trying to climb the ladder of success. It supports small businesses. It also protects Maine’s senior citizens by eliminating taxes charged on meals in retirement homes.
Critics, trying to score political points, have falsely labeled it “tax cuts for the rich.” Many of these critics actually voted for this tax cut in the Legislature, then attacked it. The Governor, more than any other elected official in Maine history, knows what it is like to overcome challenges. That is why he has worked to improve the lives of all Maine people.
These tax cuts benefit all Mainers by putting more money in the pockets of hardworking people and stimulating economic activity, which in turn creates jobs. This is especially important since Democrats in Washington, D.C. just allowed payroll taxes to increase for everybody. Maine can’t afford another Democratic tax increase.
Maine Democrats have criticized the tax cut package, calling it a tax cut for the rich—which is simply not true. In addition to what the Governor had to say, consider the following:
The Democrats’ own tax “reform,” enacted by LD 1495 in 2009, gave an average $6,238 tax cut to 5,000 Mainers earning over $333,000 per year while raising sales taxes on everyone, hitting the lower- and middle-class especially hard by penalizing such things as car repairs and meals;
Despite a $994 tax cut in 2012, the richest 10 percent (over $119,000) will see their share of total income taxes collected rise from 55 percent to 57 percent, while the percentage of the burden paid by all other income groups will decline;
Middle-income families can expect a cut of about 15 percent, while families in the top 10 percent will see an average reduction of 8.4 percent; and
The 80 percent of taxpayers in the low- and moderate-income groups pay only 24 percent of the state’s total income tax revenue but will receive 33 percent of the cuts.
