In the current debate over tax policy in Augusta, the best interests of Maine’s small businesses are served by the proposal to close the funding gap for local schools, not by Gov. Paul LePage’s plan for so-called “tax conformity” that includes the Maine Capital Investment Tax Credit.
Some might be surprised that business owners would take a stand against a proposal the governor claims will bring state and federal business tax regulations into alignment. The truth is the Maine Capital Investment Tax Credit applies to only the biggest corporations — those that make capital investments of more than $2.5 million in a single calendar year — and that very few Maine-based businesses would benefit.
Our company is one of the many thriving Maine-owned and operated businesses that would not be supported by the governor’s plan. Evergreen Home Performance has 23 employees and provides energy-efficiency assessment and insulation improvements throughout the state. Transforming hundreds of Maine’s drafty old houses into comfortable, efficient homes every year requires significant capital investments, from diagnostic equipment and installation machinery to the transportation to move it all around. Even so, a $2.5 million capital investment is far beyond our means, and we are unlikely to ever benefit from the Maine Capital Investment Tax Credit.
Maine residents won’t benefit from it, either, but there is an alternative. Instead of directing $23 million to the Maine Capital Investment Tax Credit, Rep. Ryan Tipping-Spitz has proposed an amendment to direct those funds to education and to preserve many tax benefits on which Mainers rely, including incentives for teachers and homeowners.
Adequate state funding of our schools would serve all Mainers by supporting students and teachers, decreasing community reliance on property taxes, and, yes, by stimulating the economy. When homeowners spend less on property taxes, they can invest that extra cash in local businesses. When our schools are well funded, they produce not only the next generation of highly skilled employees of Evergreen Home Performance but also a population that can get good jobs and afford to improve their homes through us. Maine’s people and Maine’s small businesses do better together.
Elise Brown, Richard Burbank and Brian Robinson are co-owners of Evergreen Home Performance, which helps customers reduce the energy consumption of their homes.