LePage plans to delay voter-approved 3% tax surcharge
Gov. Paul LePage’s proposed budget doesn’t include the increased funding for schools, estimated to be as much as $157 million, that would come for the voter-approved initiative to add a 3% tax surcharge to incomes of $200,000 or more.
Maine Public reported that the spending plan LePage submitted to the Legislature's Appropriations Committee doesn't have that money, but instead proposes a small overall increase in school funding, a cut in general purpose aid to education and a one-year delay in the new, higher income tax on the wealthy.
Last week, the “Keep Maine Competitive” coalition led by the Maine State Chamber of Commerce called on legislators to repeal the 3% surcharge, with Giovani Twigge, chief human resources officer at IDEXX Laboratories Inc., calling the measure “yet another reason for talent in Maine to leave the state of Maine for opportunities outside."
Maine Public reported the governor's budget also proposes to end the concept of an "essential programs and services" budget, end state funding for school superintendents, provide incentives for districts to consolidate and create a statewide — or at least region-wide — teacher contract.
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