2018 ME Governor's race: on Tax Reform


Betsy Sweet: Level the playing field; more taxes for the top 20%

Fair taxation, share the burden: In the last 8 years, the incomes of well-off Mainers grew at a rate 3 times that of low-income Mainers, and yet, low-income Mainers pay a higher proportion of their earnings for state and local taxes than does the top 20%. We will level the playing field.
Source: Ballotpedia.org Connection: 2018 Maine Governor race Nov 1, 2018

Shawn Moody: Tight N'Up spending; reduce income tax; provide transparency

Force fiscal responsibility on Maine government by working on "Tight N'Up" spending proposal. Impose budget quality controls to tie performance to a department's spending authority. Work for the reduction of the Maine income tax to protect families and make Maine competitive with other U.S. states. Incentivize regionalization of local municipal services to provide property tax relief for Mainers, while increasing transparency so the Maine people really know where their dollars are being spent.
Source: 2018 Maine Gubernatorial race website ShawnMoody.com Sep 1, 2018

Shawn Moody: You can't tax young people if we want to attract them here

Asked if he intends to bring down the state income tax, he said he would "like to set a threshold of 5 percent in the next 3-5 years." He said several citizen initiatives, including one that will be on the ballot this fall, have sought to pay for programs by adding a surtax on higher income Mainers. "If our strategy is to attract young people, you can't tax them. It makes no sense."
Source: Foster's Daily Democrat on 2018 Maine gubernatorial race Aug 3, 2018

Mary Mayhew: Cut tax burden for employers

Mayhew stated that her goal would be to revitalize Maine's economy, by downscaling government, welfare programs and taxes. "We need two things: we need to reduce taxes and promote employment as the pathway out of poverty. Employers need a workforce that's ready to work, and they can succeed in Maine if we don't have a tax burden that is making it difficult for them to be prosperous," she said.
Source: Journal Tribune on 2018 Maine Gubernatorial race Aug 9, 2017

  • The above quotations are from 2018 Maine Gubernatorial race: debates and news coverage.
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Candidates and political leaders on Tax Reform:

Retired Senate as of Jan. 2015:
GA:Chambliss(R)
IA:Harkin(D)
MI:Levin(D)
MT:Baucus(D)
NE:Johanns(R)
OK:Coburn(R)
SD:Johnson(D)
WV:Rockefeller(D)

Resigned from 113th House:
AL-1:Jo Bonner(R)
FL-19:Trey Radel(R)
LA-5:Rod Alexander(R)
MA-5:Ed Markey(D)
MO-9:Jo Ann Emerson(R)
NC-12:Melvin Watt(D)
SC-1:Tim Scott(R) 		Retired House to run for Senate or Governor:
AR-4:Tom Cotton(R)
GA-1:Jack Kingston(R)
GA-10:Paul Broun(R)
GA-11:Phil Gingrey(R)
HI-1:Colleen Hanabusa(D)
IA-1:Bruce Braley(D)
LA-6:Bill Cassidy(R)
ME-2:Mike Michaud(D)
MI-14:Gary Peters(D)
MT-0:Steve Daines(R)
OK-5:James Lankford(R)
PA-13:Allyson Schwartz(D)
TX-36:Steve Stockman(R)
WV-2:Shelley Capito(R) 		Retired House as of Jan. 2015:
AL-6:Spencer Bachus(R)
AR-2:Tim Griffin(R)
CA-11:George Miller(D)
CA-25:Howard McKeon(R)
CA-33:Henry Waxman(D)
CA-45:John Campbell(R)
IA-3:Tom Latham(R)
MN-6:Michele Bachmann(R)
NC-6:Howard Coble(R)
NC-7:Mike McIntyre(D)
NJ-3:Jon Runyan(R)
NY-4:Carolyn McCarthy(D)
NY-21:Bill Owens(D)
PA-6:Jim Gerlach(R)
UT-4:Jim Matheson(D)
VA-8:Jim Moran(D)
VA-10:Frank Wolf(R)
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Page last updated: Nov 12, 2019