Countdown: Mainers to Vote on Tax and Expenditure Limitation Measure in Two Weeks

Tuesday, October 20, 2009 3:22 PM

In exactly two weeks from today, on November 3, Maine taxpayers will have the opportunity to vote for Ballot Question 4, An Act to Provide Tax Relief, is a new and improved version of the Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR) initiative that appeared on the ballot in 2006 and was only narrowly defeated at the time.

Under the proposal:

• growth in annual expenditures of the General Fund, the Highway Fund and Other Special Revenue Funds would be limited to the rate of increases in population plus inflation (limit may be exceeded if majority in both houses of legislature and voters approve)
• revenues exceeding the expenditure limitation would be distributed by directing 20% of that excess to a budget stabilization fund and 80% of that excess to a tax relief fund set to provide relief through broad-based tax rate reductions or refunds proportional to individual income tax personal exemptions claimed in the previous year.
• tax increases could only be approved with a majority vote of each house of the legislature and a majority of voters
• the bill also establishes a local spending limit and spells out limitations for tax increases, and requires that municipalities post their budgets online at least two weeks prior to a vote and also upon passage.

Given that Maine taxpayers had to work 213 days of the year just to pay off the total burden government imposes on them (based on our annual Cost of Government Day calculations), Maine taxpayers would certainly be well-served  by TABOR.

After the close TABOR vote, in 2006, the legislature promised they got the message and vowed to cut spending and lower taxes. However, two years later, taxes had incrased by $220 million through FY 2011.

TABOR would increase accountability by empowering taxpayers to become an active part in shaping their fiscal future, while at the same time slowing the growth of government.

While there is great momentum for the measure, there are still many nay-sayers, who like to point to Colorado as a negative example. However the original TABOR measure after which the Maine version is modeled has served to help Colorado avoid turning into another California, as Scott Moody and Barry Poulson point out here.

The time is right for TABOR in Maine.  To get involved, visit www.tabornow.com, and click here for a brief guide on Question 4  (for a pdf scroll down to the bottom of the page).

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