The Cape Elizabeth Town Council is currently considering a recommendation from the Ordinance Committee to expand the local Senior Tax Relief Program based on household income level.
According to a press release published Thursday, Councilors will discuss this proposal during a meeting on September 9.
If approved by the Council, residents wishing to participate must return their applications to the assessors office by Monday, November 18.
Homeowners who have previously applied to the program will receive a letter from the Town Assessor with a copy of the 2025 application.
Residents who have questions may contact Clinton Swett at [email protected] or by phone at (207) 799-1619.
Click Here for More Information on This Program
Should the Town Council approve the Ordinance Committee’s recommendation, reimbursements will range in value from $750 to $1,500 depending upon household income.
In order to be eligible, a household’s federal adjusted gross income must be less than $70,000, and the total amount of taxes owed must also be more than five percent of this figure. The proposal includes three income brackets: $0 to $30,000, $30,001 to $50,000, and $50,001 to $70,000.
Mainers statewide, regardless of age, may apply for the Property Tax Fairness Credit when filing their annual tax returns, subject to qualification based on a number of criteria including income and filing status.
The relevant tax form for 2023 indicates that eligible individuals may receive up to $1,000 in a refundable tax credit, with seniors able to get up to $1,500.
“Permanently and totally disabled” veterans may receive a $2,000 credit, increasing to as much as $3,000 for those over the age of 65.
Click Here for More Information on the Property Tax Fairness Credit
The State also has a “lifeline loan program” that allows seniors over the age of 65 or those who are permanently disabled to defer payment of property taxes until “they pass away, move, or sell their property.”
During this period, the state reimburses municipalities for any deferred taxes. Once “they pass away, move, sell the property, or move the property (if mobile or floating home) out of Maine,” the deferred tax, plus interest, must be repaid to the State.
Click Here for More Information on the Property Tax Deferral Program
Originally passed in August of 2022, the Property Tax Stabilization for Senior Citizens program was repealed by lawmakers last summer, meaning that was only applicable for the property tax year that began on April 1, 2023.
Intended to stabilize property tax bills for full-time Mainers age 65 and older, the program was expected to cost state taxpayers millions annually, increasing substantially with each passing year.
Although municipalities were to be fully reimbursed for revenue lost as a result of this program, critics pointed out that the design simply shifted costs to taxpayers statewide.
Earlier this year, Gov. Janet Mills (D) signed a bill into law rolling back statutes that have been in place since 2005 that were designed to curb government spending and reduce Mainers’ tax burden.
The now-repealed law — referred to as LD 1 — was originally implemented in January 2005 after “countless hours” of consideration by the Legislature’s Joint Select Committee on Property Tax Reform” and was ultimately passed “by wide margins in both houses,” according to a 2006 report on the law.
Sen. Teresa Pierce (D-Cumberland) suggested in her testimony introducing LD 2102 that the municipal property tax levy cap established by LD 1 “has served its purpose.”
[RELATED: Janet Mills Signs Bill Repealing 2005 Limit on Municipal Property Tax Hikes]
Cape Elizabeth’s consideration of this benefit expansion comes as Mainers throughout the state are experiencing sticker shock as they review their property tax bills for the upcoming fiscal year.
Considering Maine already has the fourth highest tax burden in the country — and the highest property tax burden of any state — Mainers are feeling the property tax pinch more than ever.
[RELATED: Mainers Bear Nation’s Highest Property Tax Burden, 4th Highest Tax Burden Overall: WalletHub Study]
While rising budget costs are often to blame for more expensive property tax bills, many of these increases appear to be the direct result of revaluations that have been conducted in response to the changes that have taken place in Maine’s housing market.
Some Republican lawmakers have pointed toward the policies of Democratic legislators and Gov. Mills as the cause of these rising tax burdens.
[RELATED: Sticker Shock: Maine Homeowners Burdened by Property Tax Hikes Following Recent Revaluations]
Sen. Trey Stewart (R-Aroostook) highlighted during an August press conference how many Maine families are forced to ask themselves “tough questions” about how they will afford to cover basic necessities, yet government spending continues to rise.
“In the last couple of years, the State Legislature has really taken the breaks completely off of this race car that is increasing taxes by doing things like repealing the cap on property tax increases and by repealing that senior property tax freeze,” Sen. Stewart said.
Laura Lossie, a Gorham homeowner, told the Maine Wire that she has lived in the town for fifteen years and saw her property taxes begin to increase substantially three years ago when a revaluation was conducted by the town.
“I definitely have to be a whole lot stricter in the budget, make choices of have-tos instead of want-tos,” Lossie said. “The want-tos aren’t even an option anymore.”
Lossie also said that she doesn’t think those who are responsible for developing the town’s budget “have an understanding at all” of how rising property taxes impact the daily lives of residents.
“I’m definitely not getting my money’s worth on these taxes,” she added.
<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="30559 https://www.themainewire.com/?p=30559">3 Comments
For some reason I am not receiving Maine Wire to my inbox. I figured I’d have to sign back in but your system recognizes my email address. Can you check on this – I would like to continue to receive the Maine Wire.
They’re still taxing on unrealized profits.
Your taxes being raised and spent for things Maine doesn’t want and Maine doesn’t need .
Spent and squandered by democrats who don’t care if you can keep your house or not . WHY do Maines voters keep electing these democrats ?