Wilton, as well as many surrounding Franklin County towns, will be looking at another increase in property taxes this year. In the 10 years, since we moved back to Wilton, our property taxes have more than tripled. This increase in taxes has occurred under Democrat, and Republican administrations at the same time as each of these administrations has claimed to be cutting taxes.
1. Governor LePage’s budget is 50 million dollars higher this year than it was last year. That can only mean that someone is going to be paying higher taxes. The question is who?
2. Governor LePage is proposing to end revenue sharing with local municipalities. Enacted in 1972, Municipal Revenue Sharing was originally designed to return five per cent of sales and income tax revenues back to municipalities where the revenues are originally generated and to reimburse towns for providing services mandated by the state, such as election administration, and to offset property tax increases. The state currently honors only 40 percent of its $158 million commitment.
Since municipalities are not allowed to establish their own sales tax, the only way to make up for this loss is to raise property taxes or cut services. Since this shifting of taxes to local communities has been going on for years, most communities have already cut all but essential services.
3. Governor LePage proposes to make up for the money that he is taking from municipalities by allowing them to tax non-profits with more than a half million dollars in assets. Many rural communities do not have any non-profits with a half million dollars in assets. Our only choice is to raise property taxes.
4. The state government continues to decrease its share of the cost of education in Maine. It has done this in two ways. First, it instituted a program called Essential Programs and Services (EPS). Basically, the state said the local district may think they are providing a basic education, but the state is only going to pay for a portion it considers essential. Next, the state decided they would pay for even smaller portions of those “essential” services. Although voters mandated that state government fund 55 percent of the state education, under the LePage administration that amount has decreased to 43 percent.
In addition, rural communities are reimbursed at a lower rate than urban communities.
Local communities must make up the difference between what the state has promised and what it actually provides with increases in property taxes.
5. Based on 2012-2013 school year data available on the Maine Department of Education website RSU 9 spent $8751.90 per pupil while the state average was $10,021.47 per pupil. Does this inequity in funding lead to an inequity in education?
6. Recent income tax cuts by the LePage administration have benefited the rich. Rural counties have lower average incomes. Very few of us will benefit from these cuts. Although Governor LePage proposes to allow taxpayers to claim state sales taxes as a deduction on our income tax, the federal government does not allow sales tax deductions.
7. The LePage administration has increased sales taxes and proposes to do so again increasing the rate from 5.5 percent to 6.5 percent. Because he proposes to cut all revenue sharing, all of that money will be leaving our rural economies.
The proposed LePage budget will hurt rural communities and continue to place an undue burden on our already struggling economies. We cannot increase the size of the budget without increasing taxes. The LePage budget decreases taxes for the wealthy and increases taxes on the middle class. Do not be fooled. It is not a tax cut; it is a tax shift.
Somebody has to pay.
Jan Collins
Wilton
@ Jan Collins: Even though your analysis is astute and easy to understand, our fellow Mainers who voted for LePage (twice!) don’t want to admit the mistake they made and will try to refute each point you make with their usual not-funny, often-abrasive remarks that only seek to shore up their misguided trust in Dear Leader’s
stewardship.
Thank you for this letter Ms Collins. I knew this was not a good plan, but did not know numbers/facts. As always..we ‘little people’ will pay for the ‘big people’ tp play and have a great life…while we struggle to keep out heads above water..
Too bad LePage’s budget plans and it’s implications were not part of his campaign along with PUC Actions and Bond withholding, otherwise we might have a different Governor.
Wonder if you naysayers even really know what’s in the budget or its just because you hate the gov.
Whine about “His Excellency” all you want but your opinions are still in the minority around here.
Although voters mandated that state government fund 55 percent of the state education, under the LePage administration that amount has decreased to 43 percent.
From the BDN on 6/6/2011, just six months after LePage took office …
… a confirmation vote for one of the citizen’s initiatives that passed overwhelmingly: that the state of Maine “pay 55 percent of the cost of public education … for the purpose of shifting costs from the property tax to state resources.” Maine voters passed this initiative in November 2003 and the carry-over measure in June 2004. And, while the state did increase its share of public education costs for a few years, it has never come close to the required 55 percent.
The magical goal of 55% has been around for a long time and has never been reached – not by King, not by Baldacci, and, yes, not by LePage. If the end is justified, the means could have been found. Dumping on the current governor while ignoring the failure of his liberal predecessors is nothing but political cowardice.
“After voters approved the measure, a plan was implemented to slowly ramp up state funding, with the goal of hitting 55 percent of the cost of “essential programs and services,” or EPS, by 2010. Things progressed well through 2009, with state funding for education rising by millions of dollars every year.
However, declining enrollment and the recession stymied the state’s efforts, and the threshold wasn’t met by the deadline. And it hasn’t been met since.”
https://bangordailynews.com/2014/10/22/the-point/maine-gubernatorial-candidates-make-promises-on-state-education-funding-as-history-shows-theyll-be-hard-to-keep/
Next: revenue sharing – if LePage gets his increase in the state sales tax, will local communities get their share?
It is ironic to see the word “cowardice used by a person who won’t sign his name to his letters.
Let it go David, some simply are not sure of their surnames
In other bizarre news:
Our gov just canned the head of the Maine National Guard.
Not only completely unexpected, by members of both parties in the legislature, and just before the man was scheduled to speak before a joint session of the legislature. He was to give awards and commendations; the recipients of which had traveled to Augusta to attend the event.
It only reads as bizarre if you only post part of the story…the Gov. is his Commander and Chief, and if he was lied to and not reported to with critical info/intell., that is critical to the State of Maine, by his B.G., being asked to step down is a lot better than slapped with insubordination and conspiracy, just to name a few of the charges that would’ve really damaged his career and reputation.