PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 19, 2024
Twin Rivers Paper Co. has been approved for a $9.5 million state tax credit over 10 years for upgrading machinery and equipment at its Madawaska mill, according to a first-ever state report on the tax credit released Wednesday. The report said the tax incentive’s impact is limited because only Twin Rivers was eligible to claim it. And it recommended that the Legislature take steps to promote transparency in how companies use state incentives. The credit was enacted in 2021 to provide incentives to revitalize paper manufacturing in counties with high unemployment. From 2000 to 2020, average employment in pulp and paper mills dropped by 72% in Maine. Maine’s experience with tax credits for paper mills hasn’t gone well.