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Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Business
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Legislators suggest task force tackle challenge of property tax reform
The Legislature's Taxation Committee hears public feedback on bill proposals in Augusta. (Emma Davis/ Maine Morning Star) With bipartisan agreement that Maine's property tax burden is too high, legislators are pushing for some tweaks to tax credits this year, however they're holding off on substantial reform until a task force can study the issue. Among its work on 18 bills on Thursday, the Taxation Committee removed the policy changes from a bipartisan plan from legislative leadership to provide property tax relief. Instead, the committee members unanimously agreed the bill should be exclusively focused on the creation of a task force that would report back legislative recommendations starting next year. 'The truth of the matter is with 2,000 bills that we're working in five months,' said co-chair Sen. Nicole Grohowski (D-Hancock), 'I actually think taking a break and being able to focus on one thing for a period of time is the way we can get the best outcome for Maine people.' The Maine Legislature is approaching its expected final month of work for the first year of the two-year session and is overall considering dozens of bills that aim to reform property taxes. Some have received favorable votes from the Taxation Committee including on Thursday a plan to expand the Property Tax Fairness Credit. The committee also earlier advanced a proposal to increase the state's tax exemption for homeowners and another to expand property tax relief for veterans and their survivors, with the latter passing both the Maine House of Representatives and Senate this week. The committee's recommendations largely fell in line with the positions of Gov. Janet Mills' administration, including committee members unanimously opposing on Thursday attempts to reinstate previously repealed programs related to property taxes. 'We did take the time and really work the task force,' Rep. Shelley Rudnicki (R-Fairfield) said, referring to the several hours the committee spent Thursday morning hashing out the details of its composition and deadlines. 'I think it makes sense right now to go that way rather than try to piecemeal things.' A bipartisan bill, LD 1770 sponsored by Senate President Mattie Daughtry (D-Brunswick) and co-sponsored by House Speaker Ryan Fecteau (D-Biddeford) and Senate Minority Leader Trey Stewart (R-Aroostook), among others, initially sought to both increase the property tax fairness credit and establish a Real Estate Property Tax Relief Task Force. The committee unanimously decided to advance an amended version of the bill that only included the latter, which now sets LD 1770 on a likely path to passage. The Mills administration had some concerns about the policy changes in LD 1770 given the tight budget year but was fully supportive of the task force component. Stating that they'd like to wait for the recommendations from this task force for major reform, the committee unanimously rejected most of the other property tax bills it considered on Thursday. These included LDs 432, 1304, 1464, 1537, 1591, 1610, 1729 and 1798. 'We are taking all of this, all of this information, seriously,' said Rep. Tracy Quint (R-Hodgdon), 'and that is why we are sending it over to the task force, because they can take the appropriate amount of time to see which bills can be properly worked and implemented.' Other lawmakers withdrew their own bills, including Rep. Steven Foster (R-Dexter) who withdrew LD 614, which sought to modify certain property tax assessment methods. 'I believe a long term answer to this problem requires much more than occasional increases to the Homestead exemption, tax credits, or other temporary fixes,' Foster said. 'I think the task force and its work this bill would establish may provide that answer.' Daughtry had outlined that the task force would be required to be geographically diverse and composed of legislators, economists, tax experts, real estate professionals and representatives of low-income and older residents. The committee added additional specifications, including that those representing low-income and older residents be people with that lived experience and that one member must represent municipalities with fewer than 10,000 residents and different forms of government — i.e. both cities and towns. While the committee had wanted the task force to complete its work within the current 132nd Legislature, it ultimately compromised, given concerns about staff workload in light of changes on the federal level raised by Michael Allen, associate commissioner for Tax Policy in the Department of Administrative and Financial Services. With the Republican majority in U.S. Congress pushing for a budget plan with new tax breaks, cuts to Medicaid and other programs, Maine state government will likely have to return to readjust state spending and operations once the details are finalized, Allen said. 'That means we're looking at conformity sometime in the middle of the summer of a very complicated bill, which is going to probably require this committee to come in to evaluate any proposal by the governor,' Allen said. 'It may take two or three weeks just to figure out what exactly Congress did and its impact on state revenue.' Therefore, the committee agreed to have the task force issue an interim report in January 2026, but also have the ability to continue its work until December 2026, when a final report would be due. Rep. Gregory Lewis Swallow (R-Houlton) was alone in offering a different take on the task force. He thinks limiting it to only studying property taxes is too narrow. 'Everything is synergistic on this issue,' Swallow said. 'When you deal with one tax, you're dealing with another tax.' The state has incrementally expanded the Property Tax Fairness Credit, the latest of which occurred last year. The credit allows taxpayers to receive back a portion of their property tax or rent paid during the tax year, with the value calculated by the degree to which the 'base benefit' exceeds 4% four of a person's annual income. In the 2023 tax year, the state essentially returned just under $80 million to taxpayers through the credit and after the latest expansion the state has returned about $115 million to taxpayers in 2024, though that number may change as returns come in. Allen said 33,463 taxpayers have benefitted from the expansion, with an average tax cut of $678, including 7,672 people who would have earlier been ineligible. Another adjustment could be coming. The committee unanimously voted to advance LD 715, sponsored by Rep. Nina Azella Milliken (D-Blue Hill), which would allow for people over the age of 65 with an annual income of $36,000 or less to receive a credit equal to the amount by which the 'base benefit' exceeds 3% of their annual income, a decrease from the current 4%. Former state Rep. Ron Russell introduced this plan last session, and while his bill passed both chambers, it ultimately did not get funded. On the other hand, the committee voted 8-3 against LD 1665, sponsored by Sen. Anne Carney (D-Cumberland), which covered similar ground but with a wider scope. It proposed increasing the benefit base to varying levels based on age and number of children. The majority of the committee ultimately rejected the plan, with Grohowski and Quint agreeing that the state shouldn't muddy the waters by adding another track for people with dependents to the property tax fairness credit when the state already has a specific child tax credit, which the committee has separately recommended be expanded. Enacted in 2022, the Property Tax Stabilization Program allowed people 65 years old and over to freeze their property taxes at the previous year's level regardless of income, as long as they owned a permanent residence for at least 10 years and were eligible to receive a homestead exemption. Mills allowed the law to take effect without her signature. However, the Legislature repealed that program after just one year in effect, following skyrocketing cost projections, concern about wealthy property owners taking advantage due to a lack of income restrictions and the administrative burden it left on municipalities. The eligibility expansion for the Property Tax Fairness Credit and the creation of a Property Tax Deferral Program had been some of the ways lawmakers tried to soften the blow of this repeal last session. With unanimous votes among those present, the Taxation Committee rejected Republican proposals to reinstate the program, albeit with some changes aimed to address the program's shortcomings. LD 1481, sponsored by Rep. Wayne Parry (R-Arundel), would add income limits for eligibility, and LD 1541, sponsored by Sen. Joseph Martin (R-Oxford), would exempt all Mainers over 65 from property taxes. The latter bill is co-sponsored by Republican leaders, Sen. Trey Stewart of Aroostook and Rep. Billy Bob Faulkingham of Winter Harbor. 'We should have fixed it,' Parry said of the program during a Wednesday press conference, 'not gotten rid of it.' In 2024, the Legislature repealed a law that limited the total levy that could be raised by a municipality via property taxes each year. LD 542, which is sponsored by Rep. Jeffrey Sean Adams (R-Lebanon), proposed reestablishing municipal property tax levy limits. The State and Local Government Committee was split on the proposal and not along party lines. Six legislators voted for its passage, while six voted against it. The majority of the House opposed the bill on Tuesday, with a 79-62 vote against passage, and the Senate tabled it on Wednesday. Regardless of how the Legislature's final votes come down, the Mills administration is also opposed to both bills, so they would likely get vetoed. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Business
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Could Maine adopt a four-day workweek? One legislator wants to find out
Sen. Rick Bennett (R-Oxford) addresses the upper chamber on May 7, 2025. (By Emma Davis/ Maine Morning Star) A Republican legislator is pushing for the state to lay the groundwork for a four-day work week by establishing a pilot project and a tax credit to encourage participation. Sen. Rick Bennett of Oxford presented a resolve, LD 1865, to the Taxation Committee on Thursday that would establish a pilot project administered by the Maine Department of Labor to 'promote, incentivize and support' the use of a four-day work week and study the benefits and effects of the schedule change. 'This proposal is rooted in a simple principle,' Bennett said. 'Maine people work hard and they deserve to thrive, not just survive.' Bennett said his proposal is not about working less but working smarter, but some Republican legislators on the committee were critical of the plan. 'Working five days a week, that's part of being an adult,' said Rep. Tracy Quint of Hodgdon. Bennett pushed back. 'I don't think part of being an adult is to have to work in a given rigor that was handed to us by what worked in 1938,' he said, adding that when former President Franklin D. Roosevelt ushered in the 40-hour work week about 80 years ago, critics feared economic disaster but instead it helped usher in an era of prosperity. 'I do not want our state policy making to be governed by fear,' Bennett said. The pilot project would be voluntary, open to all private and public employers with at least 15 employees, but selection will be up to a process established by the Department of Labor to ensure a wide breadth of participation. Research on four-day work weeks is in its early stages, and not all four-day work weeks look the same. Bennett said he'd like the pilot to involve a reduction in hours per week to 32 hours, eight hours per day, without any loss of pay, employment status or benefits. Other models compress 40 hours into four days. An international trial of more than 200 companies that switched to a reduced hours workweek like Bennett proposed found improved worker well-being, retention and recruitment, with most companies choosing to continue the model. However, other studies identified some negative impacts, including scheduling problems, more intense monitoring measures and a risk of benefits fading over time. Some private Maine businesses have implemented four-day work weeks, using varying methods, as well as a handful of municipalities, including South Portland, Lewiston and Biddeford. In order to encourage participation, the resolve would also establish a tax credit against income taxes owed by that employer. The specifics of that credit are not outlined in the proposal. Currently, it states that it would be determined by the department and the State Tax Assessor, but constitutionally tax changes must go through the Legislature, so ultimately such a decision would have to come back to lawmakers. Rep. Shelley Rudnicki (R-Fairfield) questioned why a tax credit is necessary if some municipalities and businesses in Maine have already implemented four-day work weeks, but Bennett said Maine-specific data on effectiveness is lacking. The credit would be an incentive to help the state gather that data, and it is not intended to replace the cost of the additional eight-hour work day. 'I want it to be proven out that the productivity gains and the other possible advancements are achievable and aren't just replaced by state tax dollars,' Bennett said. Pressed on the cost the tax credit could incur the state by legislators of both parties, Bennett said he would return with specifics for the work session but anticipates it to be modest. He is also open to the committee choosing to fund an incentive in another way, noting that he modeled his plan after a similar bill currently being considered in Massachusetts that uses taxpayer dollars. 'I hope that you don't reject it on that basis,' he said. The duration of the pilot project in Maine would be at least two years but no more than four years, which would be determined by the Department of Labor. The resolve specifies that participating employers should be diverse in size, industry location and ownership, including those owned by veterans, women, minorities and people with disabilities. Those participating should also have both employees who are exempt from and subject to the federal Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. No one testified for or against the measure on Thursday, but Patrick Woodcock, president and CEO of the Maine State Chamber of Commerce, spoke neither for nor against. Woodcock said, if the resolve does pass, the chamber would want to partner with the Department of Labor to make the pilot as effective as possible, noting that it would be helpful to gather data about how a four-day work week would work for salaried versus hourly employees. 'I think ultimately, for something like this to be successful, you do need the executive buy-in,' Woodcock said. 'If this does have a trend of being utilized as a best practice, I think Maine does need to be at the forefront of consideration of this model.' The department would be required to report annually to the Legislature on the progress and participation levels for the duration of the pilot project and then submit a final report. The report would assess the economic and social effect of a four-day workweek on the participating employers and the effect on the wellbeing of participating employees, as well as include recommendations. However, throughout the pilot, participating employers must provide the department access to employer data and participating employees including through interviews and surveys on a regular basis, though employees can opt out of those inquiries and any data gathered must be anonymized. The State Tax Assessor would also be required to submit an annual report on the tax credit. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Politics
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Legislators seek equal tax treatment among Wabanaki Nations
Emma DavisMaine Morning Star Legislators are trying again to ensure equal treatment for the Mi'kmaq Nation. Last session, legislation to provide the Mi'kmaq Nation the same rights to sales tax revenue on its land that the other three tribes of the Wabanaki Nations were granted in 2022 received favorable committee and floor votes, but got caught up in end-of-session procedural fights and ultimately died without final action when lawmakers adjourned. That measure was back before the Taxation Committee on Wednesday with the support of Gov. Janet Mills' administration. 'This bill addresses a clear gap in state tax law,' said bill sponsor Sen. Rachel Talbot Ross (Democrat from Cumberland).In 2022, the Legislature revised tax laws for the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians, the Passamaquoddy Tribe and the Penobscot Nation to afford them many of the same tax rules that apply to tribal nations throughout the country. This law also formalized regular dialogue practices between the Wabanaki Nations and the state and established a regulatory framework for sports betting. The law ended up looking drastically different than the legislation had first been proposed by Talbot Ross. Talbot Ross' bill originally sought to amend aspects of the 1980 Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act, which has left the Wabanaki Nations with authority more akin to municipalities than sovereign nations, putting them on different footing than all other federally recognized tribes. However, the bill was changed as a result of negotiations between three of the tribes and the governor's office and overhauling the Settlement Act remains an ongoing battle. The Mi'kmaq Nation was not referred to in the Settlement Act and only received federal recognition later in 1991. Last session, the Legislature passed a law known as The Mi'kmaq Nation Restoration Act that put the Tribe on par with the rest of the Wabanaki Nations. Talbot Ross' bill this session, LD 982, co-sponsored by Rep. Daniel Sayre (D-Kennebunk), builds upon this previous work and mirrors the earlier attempt to seek parity for the Mi'kmaq Nation when it comes to tax treatment, which had been proposed by State Treasurer Joseph Perry, then representing Bangor in the Maine House LD 982 would specifically exempt the Mi'kmaq Nation from state sales and income tax for activities occurring on tribal trust or reservation lands and allow the Tribe to generate sales tax revenues from sales on their own lands — the same rights afforded to the other Wabanaki Nations. 'Allowing the Tribe to retain this revenue will strengthen economic opportunity for its citizens and enable greater reinvestment into the surrounding communities,' Talbot Ross said. Maulian Bryant, executive director of the Wabanaki Alliance, which was formed in 2020 to advocate for the recognition of Wabanaki sovereignty, said the group supports LD 982. 'The original bill with the taxation provisions was a very significant, important, impactful restoration of sovereignty for the tribes,' Bryant said, 'and we are very happy and hopeful at the prospect of the Mi'kmaq Nation being included in this really great act of parity.'
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Business
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Lawmakers want to create tax credits to incentivize employers to provide child care
() Lawmakers are eyeing tax credits to help businesses provide child care to attract and retain workers. Both Minority Leader Trey Stewart (R-Aroostook) and Rep. Tavis Hasenfus (D-Readfield) presented proposals to the Taxation Committee on Wednesday to create income tax credits for employer-supported child care, though to slightly varying degrees. 'Lack of affordable childcare affects parents' ability to accept a job, maintain steady employment or reduce the number of hours they can work,' Stewart said. 'This all impacts our economic growth as a state. We can do better on this.' Stewart's legislation, LD 203, would authorize an annual credit of 50% of the amount spent on child care, or $3,000 per child, whichever is lower. Hasenfus amended his legislation, LD 1555, to authorize the same amounts. However, Hasenfus' version also has a per business cap of $36,000, which he said is intended to ensure the credit isn't used without end and to give a leg up to small businesses. 'Small businesses in Maine also often struggle to match the larger businesses and the benefits that larger businesses are able to offer,' Hasenfus said. The bills also differ on how long unused credits could be carried over. Stewart's legislation permits carry over for up to 15 years, whereas Hasenfus' version is only up to five years. Both bills stipulate that the credit would be subject to ongoing legislative review starting in 2030. While the bill sponsors and members of the public who testified in support of the bills said a lack of affordable and available childcare is an issue across the state, they particularly highlighted the challenges in rural areas. According to a study from the Bipartisan Policy Center, since 2019, 81 licensed child care providers in Aroostook County have closed, while only 38 providers have opened, resulting in a net loss of care for at least 516 children. There are only 84 licensed providers across the County. Just in March, a large child care facility in Presque Isle that served 71 children and 20 infants closed, with zero infant care available at any center nearby, said Readfield resident Krysta West, who is the deputy director of the Maine Forest industry Council. West said members of the council commonly cite the lack of child care as a reason they're unable to attract employees and some have therefore taken it upon themselves to fill that gap. For example, Maine Woods and its parent company, Seven Islands, has begun the process of setting up the 'Little Saplings' child care center in Aroostook County. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX 'Making visions such as Little Saplings become a reality requires substantial investment,' West said. 'Although they've stepped up to invest in child care needs, public private partnerships and new policy solutions are desperately needed to ensure that these ventures remain viable.' States have taken varying approaches to address childcare affordability. New Mexico became the first state to offer free child care to families earning up to 400% of the federal poverty level, or about $124,000 for a family of four. Nearby Massachusetts and Rhode Island use the subsidy approach, providing financial assistance to help families pay for child care programs. Some do not think tax credits are the solution. Maura Pillsbury, tax policy analyst for the progressive Maine Center for Economic Policy, argued the state should instead reinforce and build on what it's already done — investments that lawmakers are also currently weighing whether to reverse at the request of the governor to help fill the budget deficit. In 2021, Maine started providing $200 stipends per child care worker to help alleviate worker shortages during the height of the pandemic. Those monthly stipends doubled as part of the $59 million allocation to overhaul child care in the last biennial budget, spearheaded by former Senate President Troy Jackson (D-Aroostook). The package also expanded eligibility for the Child Care Affordability Program, which provides child care subsidies. The Mills administration had initially opposed Jackson's plan because of an expectation that funding for it would be inadequate. This year, Gov. Janet Mills suggested reversing those recent investments by cutting $30 million for child care worker stipends to bring them back to 2022 levels, among other funding reductions to services such as Head Start. Pillsbury requested lawmakers instead reject these cuts, arguing tax breaks for businesses are less efficient and equitable than providing direct subsidies. 'If we want to attract and retain more people in a career that prepares our youngest residents for success and gives workers in every corner of our state the chance to stay in their jobs, we must do better by them,' Pillsbury said. Questions raised by Rep. Shelley Rudnicki (R-Fairfield) suggested she may be opposed to the tax credit approach but for different reasons. 'Why should I and other seniors like me, who had to pay for our own childcare and didn't get these credits, now have to pay?' Rudnicki asked. Referring to home day care options, Rudnicki also questioned whether it would be more effective to loosen child care regulations instead. 'Is this really the best way to go about this?' West argued it is. 'It gives employers flexibility to pursue the needs of their local community,' she responded. Rudnicki similarly suggested licensing changes during the hearing for a bill to increase the state's child tax credit. That plan from Senate President Mattie Daughtry (D-Brunswick) to double the state's child tax credit for children under six years old would be paid for by phasing out the benefit for the state's highest earners. During that hearing, child care providers argued that loosening restrictions would damage the quality of the care and that liability insurance would likely refuse to insure providers. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
08-04-2025
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Bipartisan lawmakers, educators, parents push to expand Maine's child tax credit
April Tardiff of Old Orchard Beach urges lawmakers to expand Maine's version of a child tax credit while her son plays in the committee room on April 8, 2025. (Photo by Emma Davis/ Maine Morning Star) April Tardiff, a mother of three from Old Orchard Beach, told the Taxation Committee that expanding Maine's version of a child tax credit would allow her to worry less and focus on raising happy, healthy children, one of which had wriggled free from his seat and ran around the room as she testified. 'After paying for groceries, diapers, rent, transportation and utilities, there's nothing left,' Tardiff said, explaining that her family falls in the category of Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed, or ALIC, which refers to households earning above the federal poverty level but not enough to afford basic necessities. 'Some months, we're just holding on until the next paycheck arrives.' Other parents, medical professionals, educators and policy experts testified in support of legislation that would double the state's child tax credit for some recipients, which would be paid for by phasing out the benefit for the state's highest earners. LD 1294, proposed by Senate President Mattie Daughtry (D-Brunswick) with bipartisan co-sponsors, would provide an additional $300 per child under six years old for the Dependent Exemption Tax Credit, for a total of $600 per child per tax year. 'At the end of the day. This bill is about values. It's about recognizing the hard work and sacrifices that parents make every day and ensuring that our tax code reflects that reality,' Daughtry said. 'Additionally, which I am proud to say in the budget outlook that we exist in currently, this proposal is designed to be revenue neutral.' It seems like it's not a lot, but we've all seen the prices going up on everything. I think $300 is a small price to pay for dignity. – Hazel Willow Currently, the phase out rate for the credit begins at $400,000 for married couples filing jointly and $200,000 for all other filers. LD 1294 would lower the phase out threshold — $100,000 for single filers, $125,000 for head of households, $150,000 for married people filing jointly. Gov. Janet Mills' administration is recommending the changes proposed in the bill be delayed until the 2026 tax year to give the state time and ability to react to any changes to the federal child tax credit, said Michael Allen, associate commissioner for tax policy for the Department of Administrative and Financial Services, testifying neither for nor against the legislation. Currently, the maximum federal credit is $2,000 per qualifying child for an individual making less than $200,000 annually or a couple filing jointly that makes less than $400,000 — a refundability cap President Donald Trump increased with a 2017 tax law during his last presidency, expanding the credit to wealthier Americans. That law is set to expire at the end of 2025, though congressional Republicans have advanced a plan to continue those cuts. Many who testified in support of the legislation said the additional credit is particularly helpful for parents of young children because of the high cost of child care. Given that reasoning, Rep. Shelley Rudnicki (R-Fairfield) questioned whether it would be more effective to loosen child care regulations instead. But child care providers pushed back, arguing that would loosen the quality of the care and that liability insurance would likely refuse to insure providers. Others on the committee posed questions to the public about whether an extra $300 would truly make a difference. With her young son holding onto her dress at the podium, Hazel Willow responded that that amount would allow her to enroll her child in a sport or buy clothes rather than rely on shelter hand me downs. A survivor of domestic abuse, Willow added that the extra money is also about giving autonomy back to the people who've had it stripped away by trauma and circumstance. 'It seems like it's not a lot, but we've all seen the prices going up on everything,' Willow said. 'I think $300 is a small price to pay for dignity.' One day before the public hearing on Tuesday, Daughtry, child care providers and parents gathered at the Magic Years Center, which provides Head Start, preschool and childcare for young children in the Augusta area, to share their support for the legislation. Tabitha Thomas, a mother of six in Waterville, said increasing the tax credit would help her afford things others may take for granted, such as being able to pay rent and take her children to important appointments. Thomas is a student at Kennebec Valley Community College, studying mental health and case management, and works part time in food service at Colby College. 'I would work more but between long hours being a mom and going to school it is impossible to fulfill the needs of my children while still keeping up financially,' Thomas said. That's why the tax credit is crucial for her family, Thomas said. That is also true for Raychel Ward's family. Ward, a mother of three from Livermore Falls, said she'd use the extra money to pay for visits to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia for her five month old son, who has a condition where he produces too much insulin that few doctors specialize in. 'The thing is, for families with special needs children, we don't have wiggle room,' Thomas said. 'Every dollar that comes into our house is already allocated to meet their needs, whether it's getting them to the therapy appointments, making sure our cars are maintained or making sure that they get to see specialists that maybe aren't deemed necessary.' The expansion of the federal child tax credit during the COVID-19 pandemic had helped her and her husband put window and door alarms on their apartment as one of her daughters, who is on the autism spectrum, had been getting out, she said. For the 2021 tax year, the federal credit was increased to $3,600 per child under six and $3,000 per child aged six to 17 and switched to monthly, rather than annual, payments for the first several months. The expansion cut child poverty in half nationwide but those gains have since been erased with the expiration of the enhanced credit at the end of 2021. Maine picked up where Congress left off, said Ann Danforth, policy advocate for Maine Equal Justice, pointing to the Legislature making the state credit refundable and indexing it to inflation in 2023. 'We have the chance to continue that progress,' Danforth said. 'Child poverty is not an unsolvable problem.' According to the most recent data available from 2023, Maine has a child poverty rate of 12.6%, which is a historic low. The number of children in poverty in Maine has declined in recent years, but the overall share of Mainers living in 'deep poverty' — with incomes less than half the official poverty level — has slightly increased. Garrett Martin, president and CEO of the Maine Center for Economic Policy, called the child tax credit expansion a smart economic move for Maine, citing research that shows families use child tax credits for basic needs such as food, school expenses and child care. 'This is an economic investment with long-term returns: higher earnings, better health outcomes, and stronger communities,' Martin said. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
