WESTBROOK

Gov. Paul LePage continued to campaign for his ambitious plan to overhaul Maine’s tax code, fielding questions from residents Wednesday and defending against criticism at a town hall meeting, the first of many he is expected to hold.

The Republican told his audience of about 500 people at the Westbrook Performing

Arts Center that he expects some members of both political parties will oppose his proposal to cut the income tax and raise the sales tax — part of his $6.3 billion budget plan. But he pledged to put in the work to overhaul the code.

“Do I believe it will pass? I hope so because I’m willing to put in the energy to make it pass,” LePage said.

David Levesque, president of the Maine State Bar Association, urged the governor to reconsider his plan to expand the sales tax to include legal services, saying that would hurt people going through divorce, bankruptcy or other difficult process.

But LePage suggested he would have to include legal services and others in working toward eliminating the income tax, which he argues will make the state more prosperous.

“If the people of Maine want to keep the income tax, we can certainly do that,” LePage told Levesque. “How many of you would rather get rid of the income tax?” he asked his audience, many of whom raised their hands. “You have spoken,” the governor said.

When asked about his proposal to allow municipalities to tax nonprofits, LePage said the organizations use services like police and firefighting and need to contribute as everyone else does.

He also defended against claims that his budget doesn’t do enough to help senior citizens, pointing to his proposal to eliminate the estate tax, which he says will help the elderly pass their assets on to their children.

A group called Portland Racial Justice, angry over LePage’s proposal to eliminate general assistance benefits to “legal non-citizens,” protested outside the arts center and shouted questions at the governor as he was leaving the stage. Asylum seekers would no longer receive the municipal welfare benefits, under his proposal.

The benefits are critical to asylum seekers who are legally barred from working for a certain period of time after they come to the U.S., said Amy Gaidis of Portland, who was with the group.

“This would have a probably devastating impact,” she said.

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