Gov. Paul LePage railed on Tuesday against a new voter-approved tax surcharge on wealthy residents that he argued is driving away professionals and harming the economy.
In fact, LePage even suggested the tax hike and other ballot initiatives could drive him out of Maine after leaving office.
“I want to see Maine prosper and I would love nothing more to retire here in Maine, but the way things are going with Maine People’s Alliance and all of these referendums that come up, I am going to be forced out of the state like everybody else,” LePage said during his weekly appearance on a Bangor radio station.
The tax surcharge was just one topic in a wide-ranging interview on WVOM that touched on LePage’s views on the Trump administration, Medicaid spending and potential economic threats to Maine’s lobster fishery.
At one point, guest host Chris Greeley asked whether LePage was trying to set himself up for “something big down the road” with his recent trips to Washington, D.C., and appearances on national television programs. Those appearances have fueled speculation that LePage could be angling for a job in the Trump administration or preparing for another run for public office, potentially the U.S. Senate.
LePage responded that “there is no future agenda,” but that he is working to “bring common sense back to America” and “stop punishing success.”
In his current position as governor, LePage earns $70,000 a year and his wife worked as a waitress last year, so it is unclear whether the new surcharge would immediately affect them.
Maine voters narrowly approved a 3 percent tax surcharge on earnings above $200,000 last November to funnel money into education. LePage said the surcharge is “devastating” the state and that he believes 40 to 50 “professionals” already have left the state.
“I have talked to at least a dozen people that said, ‘Enough is enough. You’re just greedy. Maine has become so greedy that they hate success and they are punishing success and they are out of here,” LePage said.
Several business leaders made similar comments during a lengthy public hearing Monday on bills to roll back the tax surcharge. But education advocates urged lawmakers to respect the will of the voters who are frustrated with the state’s failure to provide adequate funding to schools.
LePage says he might retire outside Maine because of tax hike
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Originally Posted by donnay
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