State of Maine Archives: on Corporations
Eliot Cutler:
Examine corporate tax breaks; avoid clawbacks by better deal
Q: Will you support legislation that would allow the State to clawback tax breaks from companies that fail to meet job creation goals or for companies that move jobs out of state after accepting Maine tax breaks?A: Many of those tax breaks were
enacted years ago for purposes that seemed important at the time and that perhaps we could then afford. But for the most part, they've been on autopilot; most have never been closely evaluated to see if they're still working, still needed, and still
accomplishing their goals (if they ever did). They should be identified in our budget as expenditures that we have chosen to make.
As for clawbacks, we need to make sound deals in the first place with companies
that have a good track record, pay good wages, and take advantage of Maine's competitive advantages. Sound deals will contain remedies against companies that fail to live up to their responsibilities.
Source: AFL-CIO Questionnaire on 2014 Maine Gubernatorial race
Oct 16, 2013
Eric Brakey:
Cut $400M in corporate welfare & return it to the people
Tomorrow, I will release my plan to cut $400 million in corporate welfare
so we can cut taxes for Maine people & businesses.
Source: Twitter posting on 2018 Maine Senate race
Feb 26, 2017
Janet Mills:
Won $21.5M settlement against S&P's mortgage practices
Maine is receiving more than $21.5 million as part of a $1.375 billion multi-state settlement of a lawsuit against credit ratings agency S&P. Maine Atty Gen Janet Mills says it's the largest one-time settlement in Maine history. "Holding S&P accountable
for these practices tells Wall Street we will not tolerate acts that deceive investors and devastate our economy." Their practices ultimately led to the proliferation of low quality mortgages and the housing bubble and subsequent crash.
Source: MainePublic.org on 2018 Maine Gubernatorial race
Feb 4, 2015
Mary Mayhew:
Keeping government out of business creates good paying jobs
Mayhew said to retain a younger workforce, the state must allow for businesses to be able to provide good paying jobs. To do that, she again said government needs to stay out of the way and let businesses grow on their own.
She said government growing would destroy business opportunities, and to have vibrant communities and a robust economy, government needs to stay out of the way. "We've got to continue to move Maine forward," she said.
Source: Sun Journal on 2018 Maine Gubernatorial debate
Feb 27, 2018
Paul LePage:
Depreciate bonuses; reduce business tax rate to under 8%
To help create jobs in Maine, we include bonus depreciation for businesses investing in our economy's future. We increase the exemption for the death tax to make it easier to pass a family business to the next generation and to reduce the
incentive for moving wealth out of Maine. And we lower the tax rate on families and business success from 8.5% to 7.95%, the lowest top income tax rate in Maine since 1975.
Source: Maine 2011 State of the State Address
Feb 10, 2011
Paul LePage:
Capital investment goes where it is welcomed
Eighteen Maine communities are now designated as business-friendly. There is so much work left to do. Once again, Forbes ranks Maine dead last in the nation when it comes to being business friendly.
We can disagree with Forbes analysis; however, America's job creators listen to them. Denial or sticking our heads in the sand will not change the reality.
We must put ideologies aside and get to work to make Maine a competitive and prosperous state.AL, SC, IN, and TX are attracting huge investments by companies, providing higher paying jobs for their residents, without exorbitant taxpayer subsidies.
Why shouldn't Maine people benefit from the same economic opportunity? Remember one simple truth: "Capital investment goes where it is welcomed--and stays where it is appreciated."
Source: 2013 State of the State speech to Maine Legislature
Feb 5, 2013
Paul LePage:
AdWatch 2010: only candidate from both business & government
In 2010, Paul LePage, the mayor of Waterville and general manager of Marden's Surplus and Salvage, a chain of fourteen discount retail stores, logged on to the Internet forum hosted at AsMaineGoes.com. Using the pseudonym "For The People," he composed
a series of posts about the republican primary race for Maine governor in which he was a candidate. In these posts he took advantage of the forums anonymity policies to describe his qualifications in the third person.[LePage] "beat the elite vote for
the person who truly wants to represent the Maine people, not the entrenched special interests," wrote LePage in one such post. "Vote LePage for governor, he has a proven track record in government, business, many non profit organizations and the life
experience to make a difference for Maine people. Many candidates have business or government experience but lack both.'
Before the year was over, LePage would be proven right. he and his grassroots reporters would "beat the elite."
Source: 2010 AdWatch in "As Maine Went," by Mike Tipping, p. 25
Jul 14, 2014
Paul LePage:
OpEd: Opposed to the basic functions of government
LePage's governorship--especially the interplay between his grassroots base, the corporate interests that have backed his rise and helped to dictate his policies, and his own often
combative personality--offers important insights into the kind of government that may result wherever Tea Party-backed individuals are elected.
It provides a case study of what happens when politicians who are radically opposed even to some of the most basic functions of government come to power and what might happen nationally if
their movement gains more influence or if a Tea Party candidate is elected president.
Source: As Maine Went, by Mike Tipping, p. 9-10
Jul 14, 2014
Paul LePage:
Maine is "open for business" by "cutting red tape"
LePage isn't shy about his corporate deference, calling it "cutting red tape" or being "open for business." The result is an administration deeply influenced by corporate lobbyists, many playing a role directly in government, as well as national
corporate groups like the American Legislative Exchange Council. While this might seem at odds with LePage's grassroots, Tea Party pedigree, it's actually one more way in which his career has mirrored the national movement. LePage's administration, much
like the National Tea Party, has been influenced and in many ways subsumed by the interests of the corporations and wealthy donors that provide both funding and the ideological infrastructure on which they had both relied.These corporate influencers
were both noticeable from the first days of LePage's transition into office and are clearly seen in many of his policies, particularly his attempts to roll back environmental protections, break Maine's labor unions, and deregulate health insurance.
Source: As Maine Went, by Mike Tipping, p. 61-62
Jul 14, 2014
Shawn Moody:
Run the state like I've run my business
Republican Shawn Moody said his life story informs not only who he is but how he will govern. He called himself "a local, homegrown individual who found his passion early in life."He worked in a vehicle repair shop as a young teenager, starting his
own business at 18. Moody's Collision Centers today has 11 locations and more than 200 employees. The business has received environmental and business excellence awards from the state of Maine.
In 2003, he began an employee stock ownership plan
(ESOP), so that his employees have an ownership stake in the business. He said someone came up to him at one point and said, 'Why can't we run the state as an ESOP?' I thought that was a great question. And you know, look at how divided we are.
How are we going to go forward? There's so much division today."
Moody has pledge to end "red tape" that in his view hinders business and said he believes government should work with businesses and manufacturers in order to provide job growth.
Source: Foster's Daily Democrat on 2018 Maine gubernatorial race
Aug 3, 2018
Shawn Moody:
Address red tape; focus on recruiting businesses
GROWING OUR ECONOMY. Structure a Governor's Initiative on Regulatory Reform with existing staff to address red tape. Conduct entry and exit interviews with businesses both moving to Maine and those
leaving so we can address what is working well with, and what is inhibiting, job and economic growth. Focus on recruiting, and retaining, businesses which pay strong, competitive wages.
Source: 2018 Maine Gubernatorial race website ShawnMoody.com
Sep 1, 2018
Susan Collins:
Excess corporate pay rewards risk-taking over results
Collins called for extensive congressional oversight hearings to determine what went wrong and what needs to be done. She said there should be more pressure on corporate boards to curb excessive executive compensation that rewards risk-taking over
long-term results, and called for more market discipline. Collins stopped short of endorsing more regulation of the country's financial institutions. "It's not a matter of too little or too much regulation but the right regulation," she said.
Source: 2008 Maine Senate debate reported in Kennebec Journal
Sep 21, 2008
Tea Party:
OpEd: Opposed to the basic functions of government
[In Maine, Paul] LePage's governorship--especially the interplay between his grassroots base, the corporate interests that have backed his rise and helped to dictate his policies, and his own often
combative personality--offers important insights into the kind of government that may result wherever Tea Party-backed individuals are elected.
It provides a case study of what happens when politicians who are radically opposed even to some of the most basic functions of government come to power and what might happen nationally if
their movement gains more influence or if a Tea Party candidate is elected president.
Source: As Maine Went, by Mike Tipping, p. 9-10
Jul 14, 2014
Janet Mills:
Direct economic relief to nearly 1000 small businesses
We have delivered direct economic relief to nearly 1,000 small businesses and supported more than 100 infrastructure projects to create jobs and revitalize communities. We have invested $300 million to support our workforce, in everything from job
training, to business supports, to housing, to child care. These investments are helping tens of thousands of people acquire skills and find good paying careers in health care, in the trades, in teaching, and in paid apprenticeships.
Source: 2023 State of the State Address to the Maine legislature
Feb 14, 2023
Angus King:
Close corporate tax loopholes: 15% corporate tax minimum
Taxes: Raise or lower taxes on corporations and wealthier individuals?Angus King (I): Raise. Voted for a 15% corporate minimum tax that closes "loopholes long exploited by massive corporations and the wealthiest Americans."
Opposed the 2017 Trump tax bill with the largest one-time cut in the corporate tax rate and large tax breaks for the wealthy.
Demi Kouzounas (R): Unclear. Opposed Biden's American Rescue Plan, calling it "a $2 trillion tax hike proposal."
Source: Guides.vote candidate survey on 2024 Maine Senate race
Sep 9, 2024
Janet Mills:
I have opposed increasing our corporate tax rates
I have to tell you: it's not been fun or easy to put this budget together. And, over all of this is the unpredictability of the federal government whose actions may directly affect our state appropriations and expenditures and the welfare of
Maine people. When I introduced my budget two weeks ago, I could hear the collective groans of both Democrats and Republicans echoing in the chambers upstairs.
That is the same pain and frustration my commissioners and I have felt over the past several months as we put this budget together. I know there is a strong desire among some of you to just "tax the rich" or "end corporate welfare." I hear you.
But I have opposed changing our tax rates, much to the dismay of my Democratic friends, because stability and predictability, for our people and for entrepreneurs and investors looking at Maine, cannot be overstated.
Source: 2025 State of the State Address to the Maine legislature
Jan 28, 2025
Page last updated: Mar 14, 2026