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LEFT LANE:Sean Faircloth
"Get the job done" sounds final. Only death is final. The governor's tax relief gets "a job" done.
Sometimes Democratic rhetoric regarding the tax package was inflated. (We didn't invent the Internet.) Rhetorical inflation is unnecessary. Why? The governor did a good job. For example, the tax package increased the "circuit breaker" property tax relief program, directly putting money in Mainers' pockets. Why oversell success?
The tax package is but one of several important state issues. For example, income taxes are too high, especially on working-income people. Maine's sales taxes, a Swiss cheese hodge-podge ("loophole for you, but not for you, loophole for you, not for you") must be reformed. The loopholes make sales tax revenue overly dependent on a few items. Thus, revenues fluctuate wildly, depending on key commodities (e
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Still, citizens needed property tax relief. Maine citizens voted to send a quarter billion dollars to municipalities. Property tax relief is an excellent step. The governor and the special tax committee must be highly commended.
Don't agree? Play the "You Try It" game. You play "Governor Reader." We've all said, "This darn governor (McKernan, King, Baldacci) messed up!" This game gives you the power to do it right.
Ground Rules for Governor Reader:
Rule #1 Deliver a quarter billion dollars to municipalities as required by the citizen initiative.
Rule #2 Deliver this quarter billion while the federal government cuts state funding.
Rule #3 Get support from Republicans in a razor-close legislature and get support from Democrats, like me, who wisely (yeah, wisely) want to know if your plan will be funded by slashing services to abused, mentally ill, or disabled children.
So go to it, Gov! Wait, Gov, another thing: Maine Municipal Association, after passage of their initiative, holds face cards in this game. And, Gov, if you want your package to pass, you'll have to make nice with state employees and the Chamber-both.
Go. Get your bill past all these groups-plus others (I'll email a list)-if you want your tax package on your desk for signature.
That's the "You Try It" game.
Meanwhile on Planet Maine, our real-life governor jumped all those hurdles.
And what if he hadn't? Localities would have had to severely cut schools and police-or they'd have increased property taxes. Localities may grumble about this package, but no one shouts "crisis." If the tax package had failed, headlines would scream: "Tax Revolt." "Crisis in State Government!"
The Big Story? The story we avoided. Towns rightfully scream crisis about cuts from Washington (slashing cops, slashing schools), but that's Bush, not Baldacci. Baldacci gave towns a tool benefiting schools, relieving upward pressure on property taxes.
There are equally important remaining challenges: 1) Cut income taxes; 2) Stabilize sales taxation; 3) Keep Maine's commitment to vulnerable citizens.
Still, this Governor can point to the success of his property tax package, something proposed unsuccessfully by several governors. How would you fare in the "You Try It" game? The governor succeeded in The Reality Show version.
Rep. Sean Faircloth [D-Bangor] successfully spearheaded the Maine Discovery Museum, the research and development tax credit, and the deadbeat dad child support law that has saved Maine taxpayers over $150 million.
Right Lane : Scott K Fish
Does LD 1 cure Maine's tax ills? Does it get the job done? No. True tax relief requires modernizing Maine's income, sales, and property taxes, and dealing with the true cause of Maine's long-term tax debacle: overspending.
Let's look at LD 1 in parts.
1. "An Act to Increase the State Share of Education Costs "
Voters in November 2004 passed a referendum mandating state government pay 55% of local education costs. Yet LD 1 adds only about half the amount voters approved. The rest, we're told, will come over the next four years. That is not getting the job done.
The school funding part of LD 1, Essential Programs and Services (EPS), falls so far short of "Increasing the State Share of Educational Costs," it was called "The New State Plan to Close Small Schools" by State Rep. Doug Thomas [RRipley]. State Republican Leader Paul T.
Davis Sr. [R-Piscataquis] has a similar view: "LD 1 reads like an eviction notice for rural Maine."
2. " Reduce Property Taxes"
LD 1 claims to reduce property taxes by redistributing tax dollars through the state's existing Circuit Breaker Program (CBP) and the Homestead Exemption (HE). But what does it take to get these tax breaks? Taxpayers must get and complete CBP/HE applications in a narrow time frame, mail them to Augusta, and wait to see if they "qualify" for tax relief. The HE application you sign has this friendly message:
"I (we) hereby declare, aware of penalties for perjury, that the answers to the above are, to the best of my (our) knowledge and belief, true, correct, and complete. A person who knowingly files false information for the purpose of obtaining a homestead exemption is guilty of a criminal offense." Great! It is not surprising that a big chunk of CBP/HE money always goes unclaimed. In reusing these programs, politicians get political mileage, while keeping the unclaimed millions in the coffers.
3. "Reduce Government Spending at All Levels"
The jury's still out on LD 1's government spending caps. Municipal officials are already starting to come out for and against the caps. My guess? Most local officials will not hold the line on local spending.
The two-year state budget in 1991 was $1.9 billion. Governor Baldacci's current two-year state budget is $5.8 billion. Maine's population is basically unchanged since 1991. Inflation has been negligible. How do Democrat legislators explain our $5.8 billion balloon-of-a-budget? They call it "meeting the state's essential needs." Meaning what? Who says the Democrats' definition of needs are essential or even needs? And who says government is the one or best source for meeting needs?
To compete with the region, nation, and world, Maine needs a modern tax system. Governor Baldacci is giving us noisemakers, balloons, confetti-and nothing to celebrate.
Scott K. Fish is owner and editor of www.asmainegoes.com and director of special projects for the Maine Policy Institute.
