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Conservative Group Says Maine's Taxes Are Too High, Blames Democrats

The conservative group "Maine Taxpayers United" is criticizing the state's tax burden. Former Maine 2nd District Congressman Bruce Poliquin, a Republican who was defeated in the November election by Democrat Jared Golden, spoke to the group gathered outside the State House yesterday.Poliquin said liberal politicians believe tax revenue is "their money."  He told the crowd, "That's why they have so much fun spending it and wasting it."But Maine U.S. Sen. Angus King, an independent, says the tax burden appears high because Maine has the second highest level of "second home" ownership.

"Martha Stewart pays a lot of taxes at Mount Desert," King said. "But when you take the number of people who are residents of Maine divided into the amount of taxes collected, she doesn't count. So it ends up making our tax burden look significantly higher than it actually is."King made his remarks at a taxpayer clinic for low income people Monday at Pine Tree Legal in Portland, where he called for IRS improvements.Maine Taxpayers United also criticized Democratic Gov. Janet Mills' promise not to raise taxes. Maine Heritage Policy Center spokesman Jacob Posik said there would be no way to avoid future increases given her proposed two-year budget.

The governor's spokesperson, Lindsey Crete, pushed back, saying revenue forecasts show the state will take in hundreds of millions of dollars more than Mills is proposing to spend.