AUGUSTA — A Democratic Maine lawmaker has a new idea for raising state revenues: Tax PACs.
Rep. Terry Hayes’ bill, L.D. 815, would impose a tax on 5 percent of the amount contributed to political action committees.
Hayes, of Buckfield, told the Taxation Committee on Tuesday that if there had been such a tax last year revenues would have been around $382,000, money that could be used to cover expenses to regulate PACs. Hayes’ research shows no other state has such a tax.
The bill drew questions about whether the tax would be an unconstitutional tax on free speech. Hayes says that if she buys a T-shirt with a political slogan on it, she still pays a sales tax.
The bill drew no other supporters, opponents or neutral comment.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.