Mills administration opposes bill to close $52M corporate tax havens loophole
An official from the administration of Democratic Gov. Janet Mills joined Maine’s largest business lobby to testify against a proposal that would close loopholes allowing corporations to stash profits in offshore tax havens.
“An Act To Prevent Tax Haven Abuse,” introduced on Thursday by state Rep. Denise Tepler (D-Topsham) to the legislature’s Taxation Committee, would require multinational corporations with sales in Maine to claim U.S.-based profits when they file their Maine taxes, rather than try to hide profits in offshore tax havens.
“Taxes are a shared obligation for all Mainers and Maine businesses. They are the price we pay to create a just society,” Tepler said. “This current form of tax cheating passes the burden of supporting our schools, roads, bridges and state parks to those who do pay their fair share. In fact, those using this loophole force others to pay more.”
The bill is supported by a coalition of progressive advocacy organizations, Mainers for Tax Fairness, which lined up speakers to make the case to committee members that ending the tax-dodging scheme would create a fairer tax code that could pay for long-standing unmet needs in health care, childcare, education, housing, food security, local services and infrastructure.
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In testimony against the bill, both the Maine State Chamber of Commerce and a member of the Mills administration argued that maintaining a list of known tax havens amounted to a black list.
Read more: https://mainebeacon.com/mills-admin-goes-to-bat-for-corporate-tax-havens-that-cost-maine-52m/