Bill would give tax credits to Maine businesses that create remote-working jobs
Photo / Maureen Milliken
The Maine Legislature is considering a bill that would give tax credits to businesses for creating remote-working jobs.
A bill that would give a tax credit to businesses that create remote-working jobs in "econonimically disadvantaged" areas of the state is being considered by the Joint Taxation Committee of the Legislature.
The tax credit would give employers an incentive to offer remote positions — $8,000 for a full-time worker and a $4,000 for a part-time employee. As written now, the credits would only apply to businesses with headquarters in Maine. The bill would also give workers more choice, both those who live in the state and want to stay in more rural communities, and those who may want to move to Maine but not live in the city where the job is.
The bill, LD 1980, still needs some tweaking, including nailing down how much the tax credit would be for, whether it would apply to out-of-state businesses and whether the "economically disadvantaged" label should be expanded.
The bill was brought to the Legislature by Liz Tice, owner of Peloton Labs, a coworking business in Portland, and sponsored by Sen. Ben Chipman, D-Portland.
As written now, the bill:
- Defines remote work as positions where an employee is allowed to work from a location of their choice, other than the employer's official office, for at least 80% of their working hours.
- The employee must live in, and be allowed to work from, a community with a median household income less than 90% of the state median.
- The business would get a credit for remote jobs created, or for employees newly allowed to work remotely, for up to five years.
- The employer must provide a list of jobs, list of employee names and employee residences.
- The credit is directly connected to the number of remote positions created and filled. If a business eliminates a remote position, it would lose the tax credit corresponding to that position.
Options for businesses, workers
Tice told the committee Wednesday that the aim of the bill is to allow more professionals, both in state and those who'd move here from out of state, to live in farther-flung areas, particularly those who can't afford Portland's housing market.
"It would be easier for them to make choices," she said. She said many of the state's remote workers tend to be on the higher end of the income scale. "The hope is to reach deeper into the ranks of people" who can work remotely, including more middle-income employees.
Chipman, in testimony earlier this month before the committee, said, "As Mainers in rural communities struggle to find work near home and feel pressured to leave for cities like Lewiston, Bangor or Portland, working remotely can offer an opportunity for them to continue living in their homes, while also taking advantage of job opportunities which are not close to where they live.
"Making sure people have an opportunity to stay in communities they love, near their families and friends, is vital if we want to help our rural communities flourish once again," Chipman said. "We should be helping to encourage businesses to provide these opportunities."
While there are an estimated 27,000 remote workers in Maine, little data is kept, and the number is likely higher, Tice said. One provision of the bill would be to track the figures to make programs that incentivize remote working more efficient.
Members of the Taxation Committee Wednesday said the amount of the credit should probably be lower — as much as half of what's proposed — and that businesses with a physical presence in Maine, even if the headquarters are somewhere else, should be eligible.
Targeting rural areas
Rep. Maureen Terry, D-Gorham, said the requirement for a household income of less than 90% of the state median "gives me a little heartburn."
She said the median income of many larger communities in the state is lower than the state median. "Maybe we should rework this to get it where it's really [intended to go], the more rural parts of the state," she said. Another option would be to drop the median income aspect, and target it toward geographic areas instead, she said.
Rep. Ted Kryzak asked Tice how the program would work since many of the rural communities it targets don't have broadband access.
Tice said that others on the state are working on broadband access, and that the remote employee doesn't have to work from home — someone in Penobscot County, for instance, could go to a coworking space or other place in Bangor to work.
The tax credit ties in to Maine's Welcome Home Program, which is looking at ways to get more young professionals to move to the state. It also comes as the state is looking for ways to help coworking businesses locate in rural areas or expand.
Tice said there are proposals under that program that are similar. "This could be the one that leads the pack," she said.
The current session of the Legislature ends April 15, and the window for tweaking and completing bill language is closing, so it's not clear if the bill will be brought to a vote this session.
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