Maine’s population increased during the last decade by 44,000 people, but we added only 56 new jobs over that period of time!  Economic activity in Maine is at a standstill.  We are attracting too little investment, and we aren’t growing.  And the reason that we’re not growing is that it costs too much to live and do business in Maine.

During the course of my campaign, I have spoken with scores of owners of large and small Maine businesses all across our state.  I have asked each of them, what do we need to do in Maine to increase economic activity?  What is keeping you from expanding your business?  Not one of them has pointed to taxes as Maine’s biggest problem.  Every one of them, on the other hand, has said that the costs of energy and health care and the cost, quality and attitude of state services are the big problems.  And other recent surveys confirm that.

The single biggest challenge that we face today is how to lower those costs of living and doing business in Maine, and here is My Plan to do that. That is the only way we are going to get companies to invest here and to create the jobs, incomes and opportunities that we so desperately need.

As we grapple with chronic budget shortfalls, push to lower our costs and strive to make needed investments in Maine’s competitive advantages, we invariably will encounter tax-related issues that demand a responsible answer.

For example, what if we raised the gas tax by a few pennies a gallon so that we could fix our roads and bridges, but at the same time we eliminated the requirement for annual vehicle safety inspections?  Drivers’ savings from not having to pay for inspections and fewer car repairs (because our roads would be in better shape) would dwarf the cost of a slight increase in the gasoline tax.

Or what if we added a penny to the meals and lodging tax and dedicated all the increased revenue to promoting and supporting tourism, which is Maine’s largest industry.  We know that every dollar spent on promotion generates many times that for Maine businesses and increased tax revenue for the state.

Once we put in place a strategy to lower our costs, and once we get Maine growing and moving forward again, we will need to take a close look at opportunities for tax reform and change.  We will need to determine whether our estate and capital gains taxes are driving people and their assets out of Maine.  We will need to decide whether the local property tax is the right funding source for supporting K-12 education, or whether we need to examine alternatives.  And we will need to figure out ways to maximize the percentage of their incomes that Maine people can keep for themselves.

I will not make promises that I am not certain that I can keep, and so I am not going to sign any blanket pledge about taxes.   The job of governing Maine is more complex than that and demands honest leadership.