Taxes and Spending

Maine has a tax issue.  We have increased our budget from $7.4 Billion to $10.5 Billion, that's a 40% increase since 2020. Several reports list Maine as the 3rd highest taxed state in the country.  This has been done by choice and can be undone if we choose to.  We need to make a concerted effort to turn this around and bring relief to us, the Maine people.  As I have been out talking to people, I hear over and over again that inflation is hurting people, finances are tight and families are being forced to make hard decisions.  As governor, I will be taking those hard decisions on myself. 

In order to lower our tax rate we will need to cut spending.  This will need to be a multi-faceted approach, including lowering costs and increasing revenues (without increasing taxes!).  Cutting costs can be done by going through each department with a fresh perspective, and asking the right questions. We need to evaluate how it is structured and what we are trying to accomplish.  Can we approach it more efficiently and accomplish the same thing with less cost?  Do we need to do everything that we are trying to do?  We need to look at the state operations from a different perspective, a perspective that shifts from "we've always done it this way" to "do we need to do it?" and "why are we doing things this way?"  These are uncomfortable, but very healthy questions.

As governor I commit to not propose a single increase to the overall budget in my first four years.

A bright future is possible, we can do it! 

These are the states with the highest and lowest tax burdens, a report says : NPR