To the editor:

I read with great relief that the Maine House voted to reject the income tax cut proposed by Sen. Jonathan Courtney, R-Springvale.

Thank you to all the Democrats and the handful of Republicans who allowed common sense to dictate the outcome of this ridiculous proposal.

In these times of cutbacks, layoffs, catastrophic school budget struggles and general economic hardship, lowering taxes makes no sense. The bill proposed to lower the state’s top income tax rate to 4 percent over time by diverting money from the fund that is now used as a savings account for the state.

It would eventually have cost the state $600 million a year, shifting more of the burden to towns and school districts directly.

The rate was already lowered last year, from 8.5 percent to 7.95 percent.

Thank you again to all the legislators who voted “no” on this second round of cuts, which surely would have been disastrous.

Also, a special thank you to Sen. Seth Goodall, D-Richmond, for working to ensure that any legislation aiming to review or modify Maine’s current mining regulations is done slowly and thoughtfully. It’s a shame some lawmakers with vested interests in new mining efforts in Aroostook County are attempting to rush this through.

Maine must get it right.

Lorry Fleming,
Bath

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