Last month, I shared with you all that the Maine Senate enacted a responsible budget that makes transformational investments in child care, housing and food security, and I also provided an overview of some of these investments. From child care to Paid Family and Medical Leave, these budget initiatives will transform the lives of working families. At that same time, this budget meets key challenges facing our state by investing in housing and workforce development, while also responding to the opioid and PFAS crises. It will do a lot of good for Maine now – and into the future.
In the 131st Legislature, I remain committed to providing tax relief for residents across the district. That’s why I’m proud to write that the budget replaces the Property Tax Stabilization Program, which was too costly for the State to sustain and too burdensome for municipalities to administer. Instead, we’ve expanded the Property Tax Fairness Credit and my Property Tax Deferral Program. Even better, eligible homeowners will get more financial relief through the credit and the program than they were going to get through the Property Tax Stabilization Program.
If you remember, one of my bills revived the Property Tax Deferral Program when I served on the Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee in the 130th Legislature. It’s a great program that lets older Mainers and Mainers with disabilities stay in their homes. While they participate in the program, the State pays the homeowner’s property taxes. Once the homeowner sells the property or dies, the State gets reimbursed from the estate.
In addition to property tax relief, the budget establishes the Maine Dependent Tax Credit. This credit replaces the child care tax credit and provides a refundable dependent exemption credit of $300 beginning in Fiscal Year 2024. The credit will be indexed to inflation, so it will keep up with the rising costs of living. Parents, foster parents, grandparents and anyone else with a dependent child can claim this credit. For retirees, the budget increases the annual income tax pension deduction from $30,000 to $35,000 for all retired Maine residents this tax year. In the following years, the amount increases to equal the maximum Social Security benefit.
Speaking of retirees, the budget includes funding for Elder Justice Roadmap Projects including the Elder Services Connection Project, Maine Legal Services for the Elderly, and the Purchased Goods and Services Pilot Program. It also provides funding to the Area Agencies on Aging, like the Southern Maine Agency on Aging that serves all of York County. These agencies are one-stop shops that answer questions about a wide range of services for older adults and individuals with disabilities and their care partners. The budget provides ongoing funding for Meals on Wheels to help ensure that homebound Mainers can access the nutritious meals they need.
These are just some of the initiatives and proposals in part two of the biennial budget. If you have any questions about these items, or others that I haven’t discussed, please contact me. You can call my legislative office at (207) 287-1515 or send me an email at Donna.Bailey@legislature.maine.gov.
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