Gov. Janet Mills (D) released her proposed biennial budget Friday, accompanied by a 129-page piece of enacting legislation.
Among these pages are a number of tax increases and higher fees, as well as a new tax on subscription-based streaming services and new fees assessed against health care providers.
Below, the Maine Wire breaks down some of changes that Gov. Mills has suggested making to the taxes and fees assessed by the Maine State Government in her latest proposed biennial budget.
Proposed Tax Increases
Under Part E of Mills’ proposed budget legislation, the tax rate for cigarettes would be increased from ten cents to fifteen cents per cigarette as of January 5, 2026.
Similarly, the tax imposed on smokeless tobacco products would rise from $2.02 per ounce to $3.03, effective this same date.
The tax rate for all other tobacco products would rise as well under Mills’ proposal, increasing from 43 percent to 65 percent.
Part F of the proposed budget would see the tax imposed on cannabis products from 10 percent to 14 percent, as of January 1, 2026. That tax would only apply to adult-use recreational marijuana products.
Despite this increase, however, Mills’ suggested amendments would also result in a variety of reduced cannabis-related excises taxes.
For example, those with a cultivation facility license would see a smaller excise tax on the cannabis flower sold to other licensees, dropping from $335 per pound to $223 per pound.
Other excise tax reductions would include dropping the tax on sold cannabis trim from $94 per pound to $63 per pound, sold immature cannabis plants or seedlings from $1.50 each to $1 each, sold mature cannabis plants from $35 to $23, and sold cannabis seeds from 30 cents each to 20 cents each.
Under Part G, Mills proposed repealing the service provider tax of 6 percent, instead taxing them under the general sales tax, consequently reducing the rate from 6 percent to 5.5 percent.
Services impacted by this change would include the provision of cable TV, as well as the transmission and distribution of electricity.
New Streaming Service Tax
Much like the supplemental budget proposed by Mills during the previous legislative session, Part G of Mills’ proposed biennial budget would include a tax on streaming services.
Under the language put forward by Mills, “digital audio-visual and digital audio services” — defined as “the electronic transfer of digital audio-visual works and digital audio works to an end user with the right of less than permanent use granted by the seller, including when conditioned upon continued payment from the purchaser or a subscription” — would now be taxable at a rate of 5.5 percent.
Although cable TV premiums and the sale of digital media are currently taxed under state law, subscription-based streaming services have thus far been exempted.
[RELATED: Streaming Service Subscriptions May Soon Be Taxed in Maine]
The proposed tax on streaming services was removed by lawmakers last year before approving the final supplemental budget.
The Appropriations and Financial Affairs (AFA) Committee unanimously agreed to not include the proposed tax in the final version of the supplemental budget. Both the Democrat and Republican Committee reports were reflective of this decision.
[RELATED: Tax on Streaming Service Subscriptions Rejected by Maine Lawmakers]
Increased Fees and Licensing Costs
Part T would see the fee to renew or obtain an annual arborist license would be increased from $75 to $180.
Manufacturers or wholesalers of paint in Maine would be required under Part RR of the budget legislation to pay a higher per gallon fee on the product sold, with proceeds going toward the Lead Poisoning Prevention Fund.
Mills specifically proposed increasing the per gallon fee from 25 cents to 75 cents.
Part NNN of Mills’ proposed budget would also increase the cost of a number of hunting and fishing licenses for both residents and non-residents by $7 across the board.
The cost of a resident combination hunting and fishing license, as well as a combination archery hunting and fishing license, would rise from $43 to $50. A resident fishing licenses would also increase from $25 to $32.
The price of nonresident combination hunting and fishing license would would increase from $150 to $157.
The fee for a super pack license would go from $207 to $214 for residents and from $182 to $189 for those holding two or more lifetime licenses.
Costs for a number of other shorter-term hunting and fishing licenses would also increase by $7 under this proposal.
Part VVV of the proposed biennial budget would also increase the cost associated with applying for or renewing a concealed carry permit for a handgun.
As of now, the application fee for a new permit is $25, while the cost of a renewal is $15.
Under Mills’ recommendations, these costs would rise to $40 and $30 respectively.
New Fees on Health Care Providers
Mills also proposed under Part SS that the state assess a 70 cent per prescription fee on pharmacy providers beginning on April 1, 2026.
Funds collected through this program would be used help cover MaineCare payments to Pharmacy providers under the MaineCare program.
Along these same lines, Part TT of Mills’ proposed budget would impose a 6 percent fee on the net operating revenue of an ambulance service provider as reported in their audited financial statement.
In this case, “net operating revenue” refers to the “gross revenue collected by an ambulance service provider for the delivery of ambulance services less any deducted amounts for bad debts, charity care or payer discounts.”
These funds would also be used to make MaineCare provider payments.
Beginning on October 1, 2025, Mills would like to see a fee assessed on hospital based on the number of inpatient beds, up to a total collection of $1.8 million annually.
Part WW of the budget legislation explains that the funds collected under this provision would go toward Health Information Technology initiatives, managed by a newly-established Health Information Technology Fund.
