For years, our working families and small businesses have borne a higher proportional tax burden than the wealthiest corporations. And during the worst pandemic in a generation, these corporations have made record profits, while working Mainers have struggled to get by.
As our elected officials focus on rebuilding our state in the wake of COVID-19, it’s crucial that they ensure corporations start paying their fair share.
There are lots of big multinational corporations that do business in Maine; they drive on our roads, employ our workers, and use our resources, but for years, they haven’t paid their fair share in taxes.
Some of these corporations even use a loophole that rewards them for hiding their profits overseas.
During a pandemic, working families and small businesses need more protection, not less. This is a time to invest in our essential services, like healthcare, education, and public safety – doing so will keep working Mainers on their feet and supported as we recover from this crisis.
Rather than put these services on the chopping block, we need our elected officials to focus on tax fairness. Ensuring tax fairness means closing corporate tax loopholes.
Closing corporate tax loopholes would not only help make sure we don’t have to make major cuts as we chart the path towards our recovery, but it could also prevent considerable tax hikes that would hurt families who are already struggling. There are tangible steps that our lawmakers could take to close these loopholes, including peeling back Trump-era corporate tax breaks, like the FDII tax loophole.
We still have a long road ahead when it comes to recovering from this pandemic, and it won’t be easy. But we need to make sure that working families and small businesses come before the profits of big corporations. It’s time for big corporations to pay their fair share; it’s time to close corporate tax loopholes.