KENNEBEC JOURNAL • March 10, 2022
Rare is the citizen who has the slightest inkling about how business interests absconded with the tax base. Trump-McConnell tax cut reduced corporate tax rates by more than 40%. But what hardly anyone realizes is how far down it goes; much of the lost revenue has been extracted at the state, county and municipal levels. There are now three different forms of business equipment taxation, and nobody can say whether any of it actually improved outcomes. Augusta created tax incentive financing to attract a new enclosed mall. The Legislature voted a state incentive, though it was never used; there was no mall, and Walmart got the tax breaks instead. Now, with online shopping and the pandemic, many big-box stores are hurting and coming back for more tax breaks. They’re inundating overmatched small town tax assessors. ~ Douglas Rooks