AUGUSTA – Legislation that would eliminate the tax that Mainers pay when they inherit large estates is running into opposition from Democrats.
The Maine House on Tuesday has cast an initial vote to reject the bill. The party-line vote was 77 to 65.
Under current law, estates valued at nearly $5.5 million are exempt from the estate tax, which is triggered when the ownership of a property transfers as a result of death.
The Legislature last year more than doubled the previous $2 million state exemption.
Republicans argued that estate tax is unfair and forces families to hire lawyers to break up land and businesses to avoid the tax.
Rep. Adam Goode, a Democrat from Bangor, said he opposes the bill because it would benefit only 60 wealthy families annually.
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.