Dear Editor:

Governor Mills is fond of saying “no tax increases.” A budget increase of $1.8 billion, a 25% increase since LePage’s last budget, says otherwise. Who pays? Everyone, the living and the dead (estate taxes). Even if every penny was paid by “the big bad businesses,” also known by many as “our employers.” We all pay.

Some will pay with their jobs as businesses leave for a more business friendly state or simply close like Jay Paper. Some will pay with loss of wages or benefits as businesses reduce their operating costs to offset the extra tax burden. An example is ND Paper in Old Town that just announced an indefinite shutdown due to high operating costs. Customers of the surviving businesses will pay as prices and fees are raised to maintain profitability.

The hard facts are, at some point, an extra $1.8 billion has to be squeezed out of hard-working Mainers or our struggling and failing businesses. These businesses and our young are fleeing the state to other places that are business friendly, that do not punish businesses for being profitable and have lower energy costs and lower taxes. A recent survey by WalletHub found Maine has the third highest tax burden of all 50 states. Maine is circling the drain folks and this new budget, passed by a simple Democrat majority with no Republican voting for it, is a guarantee that things will go from bad to worse.  

Joe Grant

Wiscasset