Vote 'Yes' on One June 8

To the Editor:

On June 8 Maine voters will go to the polls to vote on a number of important money issues. It is important that voters realize the June vote is just as important as the November ballot.

I am writing to address Question 1 on the ballot and ask for a “yes” vote on the question. This vote would repeal the 5 percent tax on services and labor that the legislature passed last year. The legislature would like the voters to believe that they helped us by lowering our Maine income tax with this bill. Did they? According to the bill you will no longer be able to deduct mortgage interest, nor the property tax deduction nor charitable donations on your Maine income tax.

The big issue is that the legislature appears to be substituting one tax for another and another and another. The bill taxes a long list of services and labor charges you will use on a daily basis. A 5 percent tax on vehicle repair services and towing, tailoring and dry cleaning, movie and concert tickets, admission to museums and historical sites, admission to home, auto and boat shows, as well as pet sitting, grooming and training, house cleaning services, car washes, computer and appliance repair services and many more services and labor charges. Hair cuts at salons and barbershops? Multiply this out over a year and determine if there is a saving for you.

Instead of stopping their over-spending habits they send us a bill to let us think they are thinking of us. When will it end and the big question is what will stop the legislature from adding more and more to the 5 percent tax list? The legislature has a poor history of curtailing their spending habits. Instead of cutting taxes they are always looking to find one more way to tax us. I just want to remind you that we are one of the most taxed states in the country and one of the lowest per capita wages. Bills like this one help keep us on this list of over taxation. It also puts a burden on small businesses already struggling to survive in this economy. For some businesses this additional tax could be the difference between keeping a customer or losing that customer because the cost is now over the edge.

If you want to send a message to the legislature and to repeal their latest effort to add additional taxes on the people of Maine, I urge you to vote yes on Question One on June 8.

Connie Moulton

Newry