Maine's budget needs balancing, and early this morning, members of the Legislature's Appropriations Committee unanimously agreed to raise the state sales tax in order to balance it. Lawmakers propose upping the sales tax by half a percent and the meals and lodging tax by 1 percent.
The tax increases would be temporary and are expected to generate approximately $178 million before their expiration in June 2015. That revenue would provide pay raises to state employees--the first in more than four years.
These take hikes are not guaranteed. They must be approved by a two-thirds majority in both the Senate and the House, and they must escape Governor Paul LePage's (R) veto.
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