This letter is in response to Representative Mark Bryant’s guest column of April 10 about reducing the tax burden of Maine citizens. The idea of lowering the income tax and broadening the sales tax to areas which are presently not taxed sure sounds like a Ponzi scheme to me.

Supposedly this shift in our sales tax would hit tourists the hardest thus reducing our tax burden overall. First, one has to hope the tourists even come to Maine in droves and the forecast for that to happen is like looking for ice cream in Hell.

What Rep Bryant left out, just like other representatives who support this bill, is the fact that there are many more areas that will be taxed besides food establishments, ski-lifts, hotels and motels. It will include a vast array that I cannot list in this letter, but one can go to the Maine Web site and look under Legislature and search for LD1088.

I don’t think that people from away are coming here to repair their cars, computers and other various appliances. Someone from

Massachusetts certainly wouldn’t come here to just get a haircut or perm. We sure do though.

How many citizens of Maine either don’t pay taxes or fall under the earned income credit and get more money back than they paid in taxes? For the poorest citizens of this state, this bill will result in a huge tax increase they cannot afford to pay. The Democrats in Augusta are stifling businesses again under the disguise of tax

relief.

Lane Hiltunen

Windham