BATH – Navy shipbuilder Bath Iron Works wants to extend a tax credit for up to $3.5 million a year, which it says is needed to remain competitive.

The Times Record reports that the Maine Legislature will consider a proposal to continue the tax credit that’s due to expire in 2018.

Since the late 1990s, the Bath shipyard has benefited from Maine’s Shipbuilding Facility Credit as long as it invests $200 million in its facility. A report by Maine Revenue Services says the company had invested $464 million through 2015.

Democratic Rep. Jennifer DeChant of Bath is sponsoring the bill. She says the extent to which the tax breaks are modified “has yet to be determined.”

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