I strongly agree with Hossein Askari’s Jan. 3 Maine Voices column, “Maine should collect more from out-of-state homeowners.”
It was a number of years ago that I encountered a Democratic candidate running for governor who proposed a statewide property tax on land that would be 100 percent deductible from your state income tax. This has made good sense not only to me but also to anyone whose ear I have bent on the topic.
Bringing up the concept to my state senators and representatives over the past dozen or so years does not seem to have gained any traction. We have many generous nonresident landowners who have allowed access to their property. However, there are many others who enjoy the “way life should be” without contributing to it.
Take a few minutes and look at a tax map of a piece of shorefront property. For many, the valuation of just the land is well over $300,000. If the state were to collect just 0.1 percent, I would wager that would provide enough money to fix up the roads and bridges that we all rely on, along with providing some tax relief to the rest of us.
After all, it’s only fair to expect that the nonresident landowners pay their fair share.
Tom Patterson
Gorham
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