Maine lawmakers have rejected a Harpswell Democrat’s bill to levy an additional four percent tax on income earned over $1 million in order to fund public education.
Sponsored by Rep. Cheryl A. Golek (D-Harpswell), LD 1089 would impose this new “surcharge” on income beginning with that generated this year.
The four percent tax would only be applied to the portion of a Mainer’s income that is above the $1 million threshold, meaning that everything up to that point would not be subject to this additional fee.
As the law is currently written, revenue collected from this tax could only be used to fund public pre-kindergarten through grade 12 education.
Cosponsoring this bill were a number of other Democratic lawmakers, including Speaker of the House Ryan D. Fecteau (D-Biddeford), Sen. Mike Tipping (D-Penobscot), Rep. William R. Bridgeo (D-Augusta), Rep. Gary Friedmann (D-Bar Harbor), Rep. Drew Gattine (D-Westbrook), Rep. Laurie Osher (D-Orono), Rep. Ambureen Rana (D-Bangor), Rep. Suzanne M. Salisbury (D-Westbrook), and Sen. Jill Duson (D-Cumberland).
[RELATED: Maine Dems Look to Tax Income Over $1 Million to Increase Funding for Public Schools]
A late March public hearing on LD 1089 drew a great deal of testimony from both supporters and opponents of the proposal.
While those representing business and free market interests testified in opposition to the bill, representatives of municipal, educational, and social justices interests expressed support for the measure.
Those arguing in support of the bill focused both on the need for additional state funding for public schools, as well as on the perceived fairness that this surcharge would create within Maine’s tax code.
Opponents of LD 1089 argued that tax increases would be harmful to the state’s economy, have an outsized impact on entrepreneurs and businesses, and not necessarily improve public education as hoped.
Following this public hearing, members of the Taxation Committee voted along partisan lines in support of this bill, with all Republicans opposing it and all Democrats favoring it.
[RELATED: Extra 4% Tax on Income Over $1 Million on Track for Adoption After Committee Dems Recommend Hike]
Although this was expected to set this bill along a path for approval, LD 1089 encountered some resistance when it was brought on the floor of the House.
A motion to accept the majority’s Ought to Pass as Amended report narrowly failed in a roll call vote of 70-72.
After a motion to reconsider the vote failed, the minority Ought Not to Pass report was approved without a roll call.
Similarly in the Senate, a motion in support of the bill’s passage narrowly failed in a roll call vote of 17-18, leading to the Ought Not to Pass report being accepted by default.
Although LD 1089 was then placed in the legislative files as a dead bill, it has now been held at the request of Sen. Mike Tipping (D-Penobscot). It is not immediately clear if this request will ultimately impact the fate of this bill.
