Rep. Laurel Libby, R-Auburn, is serving her third term representing District 90, part of Auburn and Minot, in the Maine House of Representatives. She is the founder and executive director of Lead Maine.

If you run a business in Maine, or work for someone who does, you already know what I’m about to say: the cost of doing business in this state keeps going up, and Augusta keeps finding new ways to add to it. 

Recently, I heard from a longtime Mainer and new business owner who is looking at a potential $400,000 investment into his business and community, but is reluctant to do so because of the difficult business environment here.

This isn’t only about inflation or supply chain issues. I’m talking about costs inflicted by the State House that show up in your paycheck or your balance sheet year after year. Individually, each one might sound small, but all together they are pushing Maine businesses to the breaking point.

Three recent examples show what I mean.

At the beginning of 2025, every Maine worker and employer began paying into the mandatory state Paid Family and Medical Leave program. It’s a 1% tax on wages, split between you and your employer. If you earn $50,000 a year, that’s $250 out of your paycheck annually, and your employer is paying another $250 on top of that.

But benefits don’t even start until May 2026. We’ve been paying into a program that isn’t even up and running. For a small business with a million dollars in payroll, that’s $10,000 a year in new taxes. That’s money that could have gone to raises, to new hires, or to keeping the lights on.

For decades, Maine has reimbursed businesses for the property taxes they pay on equipment, things like machinery, tools and technology. It was a straightforward deal: invest in Maine, and we’ll help offset the cost. The program is called BETR, and it works. 

Gov. Janet Mills wants to eliminate it. The Maine Forest Products Council estimates it will cost their industry $3.1 million, the equivalent of 52 full-time jobs.

Eliminating BETR saves the state about $8 million a year, less than one-tenth of one percent of the state budget. Meanwhile, the same proposed budget sets aside $220 million for one-time checks. If we can afford campaign gimmicks, we can afford to keep encouraging businesses to invest and create jobs here.

Last year, Congress passed tax relief that should be helping Maine families and businesses right now: a bigger standard deduction, new write-offs for research and equipment and charitable deductions for people who don’t itemize. But instead of passing those savings along immediately, the governor’s budget phases them in over the next several years. 

Congress also passed new tax breaks on workers’ tips and overtime last year, but Gov. Mills refuses to pass the savings to Mainers. Why?

If Gov. Mills gets everything she wants this year, she will have presided over at least 32 different tax and fee expansions during her eight years in office. Thirty-two! From your paycheck to your fishing license to your Netflix subscription to a can of paint at the hardware store.

Since she took office in 2019, the average Mainer’s wages have grown 33%, but state spending has grown 65%. The current two-year budget is nearing $12 billion. Augusta keeps taking more from Mainers to feed the spending, so we keep falling further behind.

This isn’t about party politics. It’s about priorities. How could we show Maine workers and businesses the state understands their struggles?

Pass along the federal tax cuts now, not later. Keep the BETR program, so businesses have a reason to invest here. Repeal Paid Family Medical Leave and the 1% payroll tax. And stop relying on one-time checks as a substitute for real, lasting tax relief that helps Maine families every single year.

Maine should be an affordable place to live, where it makes sense to start a business, grow a business and build a life. Augusta is making that harder than it needs to be.