AUGUSTA (AP) — Republican Gov. Paul LePage says he will propose slashing the income tax rate to lessen the impact of a new income surtax and minimum wage hike that Mainers approved this month.
The idea will be in LePage’s budget proposal due in January. In a letter to legislators, LePage said Maine voters didn’t understand the specifics of ballot questions they approved to raise the minimum wage and directly fund schools through a new surtax on individual Maine taxable income above $200,000.
LePage said the tax would make Maine’s income tax the second highest in the nation, and claimed the wage hike would increase prices and slash restaurant servers’ pay.
LePage proposes removing the income tax on pensions, reduce the cost of medications and make it harder to foreclose on elderly homeowners.
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