To the Editor:
In addition to the disastrous school consolidation, state take-over of county jails, LD 1 and Dirigo legislation, now we also have LD 1495. LD 1495 is touted by the state as “tax relief” for Maine families and businesses and that the tourists will bear the brunt of the “exported” taxes: not so!
Some of the items subject to this tax include: exhibition attendance fees, sightseeing excursions, entertainment tickets [such as movies, theatre, amusement parks, arcades], long distance telephone service, services for installation, repair and maintenance [autos, for example], personal property services: dry cleaners, pet-related services, car washing, vehicle towing. The list seems endless.
Many small businesses will now become tax collectors for the state — programming cash registers, charging the tax, keeping track and paying the state using their applicable forms on a monthly or quarterly basis. The new tax on car repairs alone will be particularly burdensome to poorer Mainers as well as to the auto mechanics. The elderly and the poor will be the hardest hit.
Noted anthropologist Margaret Mead once said, “Never doubt that a small group of citizens can change the world.” If you are a registered voter in the Town of Wiscasset and want to sign a petition for the repeal this outrageous piece of legislation [LD 1495], please contact me at 882-6776 or via e-mail at seafield@roadrunner.com at your earliest convenience.
Katharine Martin-Savage, Wiscasset
