September 2006 Archives

MHPC recently released an Issue Brief examing the economic performance of high tax states versus low tax stats. I have been getting many requests to know what Maine's growth rates were versus the national average. Here are the stats, enjoy!

For Maine:

Tax Burden: 13.0 percent of personal income

Population Growth: 5.7 percent

Personal Income Growth: 62.5 percent

Employment Growth: 15.1 percent

For comparison to the national average:

National Average:

Tax Burden: 10.7 percent of personal income

Population Growth: 11.7 percent

Personal Income Growth: 65.7 percent

Employment Growth: 17.6 percent

Note that Maine lags the national average in every category--except, of course, taxes.

This has nothing to do with taxes, but I was so struck by these numbers that I just had to share this story. Its the story of the humble light bulb. A revolution is brewing in the lighting industry and its going to save us all alot of money and help the environment along way.

The Commercial Forestry Excise Tax

The next installment of the "Hidden Tax/Fee of the Week" is available on the MHPC website.

Total Hidden Taxes/Fees to Date: 262