Baldacci proposes income tax reduction

[mainegreen]

Baldacci to propose income tax cut
By Mal Leary, Capitol News Service
Tuesday, August 12, 2008 - Bangor Daily News

AUGUSTA, Maine - Gov. John Baldacci said Monday he would propose lowering Maine's personal income taxes in the January session of the Maine Legislature, but how much depends on the state budget now being developed.

"We are going to be doing more budget cutting, more budget restructuring, more efficiencies," he said Monday in an interview. "We have only just begun that process with jails and school administrative districts. More needs to be done, and we are going to do more of that and reduce the income tax on earned income."

....

Baldacci declined to say whether he has a target for reducing the income tax, or whether he will propose reducing the 8.5 percent maximum rate or seek to reduce the taxes Maine residents pay by other adjustments to the tax code. For example, increasing either the standard deduction or the personal exemption levels would reduce the amount of income tax a person pays, even if the person still pays taxes at the 8.5 percent rate.

I'd rather see an increase in the standard deduction than an actual drop in the base rate. Hell, I'd like more money, who wouldn't? But I wonder what they would have to cut.

Thoughts?

[lazyriver]

1. I'd like to see the state START taxing the fundie mega-churches

like the one a guy I work with attends. They bring in huge amounts of money and preach more politics than religion.

Apart from that, I agree with increasing the standard deduction. It seems to me that would lower the amount of tax we here in the lower tax brackets would pay. As to what to cut, this is always a tricky question. Perhaps if we were to lure green businesses to the state and commit to renewable energy such as wind/tidal energy generation that we could sell to the rest of power-hungry southern New England, we wouldn't have to cut anything at all.

[mainegreen]

2. I definitly agree there is something to Maine becoming an energy exporter.

I think Maine is well situated to reap the profits of electrical exports.

I'd also like to see us really knuckle down and start competing heavily with Halifax as Canada's eastern port.
There's a lot of money to be made there.

[luckyleftyme2]

3. to see any drop

to see any drop in goods or taxes would be a help this winter. many Mainers are
wondering how they are going to keep their homes let alone heat them.
I've never seen such a squeeze on the working class as this year and I'm in my seventies.