AUGUSTA — Legislative gridlock over proposed tax code changes amid looming filing deadlines is raising anxiety levels among tax preparers and some businesses.
Tax preparers are waiting for a resolution before filing their clients’ taxes, and they say continued delay will create a workflow bottleneck and added costs. Some business owners say lack of agreement has forced them to make assumptions and then hope they’re right.
“You are held at the edge of the cliff,” said John Babb, president of J &S Oil Company, which has 200 employees in central Maine.
The Legislature has just a few days left to resolve the issue, because March 15 is the deadline for filing corporate tax returns.
At issue is whether Maine should change the state tax code to conform to the decision by Congress last year to continue some tax breaks that were first implemented in response to the Great Recession.
Comments are not available on this story. Read more about why we allow commenting on some stories and not on others.
We believe it's important to offer commenting on certain stories as a benefit to our readers. At its best, our comments sections can be a productive platform for readers to engage with our journalism, offer thoughts on coverage and issues, and drive conversation in a respectful, solutions-based way. It's a form of open discourse that can be useful to our community, public officials, journalists and others.
We do not enable comments on everything — exceptions include most crime stories, and coverage involving personal tragedy or sensitive issues that invite personal attacks instead of thoughtful discussion.
You can read more here about our commenting policy and terms of use. More information is also found on our FAQs.
Show less