AUGUSTA, Maine - The Legislature's Taxation Committee has split along party lines over the so-called "bonus depreciation" portion of Gov. Paul LePage's $16.7 million tax conformity bill.
Bangor Rep. Adam Goode, a Democrat who co-chairs the committee, says all six Democrats on the panel oppose that one provision.
"All the committee members want to be focused on jobs and growing the economy," Goode says, "and learning that it is a retroactive tax credit that's helping businesses that are very large, and that they are getting it for equipment they already bought last year, is really troubling."
All six Republicans and the one independent on the committee voted to recommend passage.
Republican Sen. Earle McCormick, of West Gardiner, co-chair of the panel, says most of the $10 million cost of the depreciation section goes to individual taxpayers in Maine, and supporters believe it's important to conform with federal changes so individuals and companies are not forced to keep two sets of books for tax purposes.
The Appropriations Committee has yet to take up the recommendation.
