High court overrules agency OK of multi-million-dollar wind energy deal
A deal worth hundreds of millions of dollars to expand wind energy projects across the Northeast was dealt a blow by the Maine Supreme Court.
Tax ‘game’ allows some towns to protect their state aid at expense of other towns
Used originally to promote development in blighted areas, TIFs are increasingly being used by towns as a method to protect their share of state aid.
Tax law allows billions in business property taxes to be diverted from paying for local services and schools
Put an addition on your house, and the town assessor will come around, increase the value of your house and your property taxes will go up. Get a TIF, and you, too, have to pay taxes on that new warehouse or factory – but the taxes don’t help pay for the schools, plowing and cops.
Maine ranks near bottom for tax subsidy transparency
As lawmakers debates reducing some of the $500 million annual tax breaks for businesses to fill a budget hole, a national group has ranked Maine near the bottom for making it easy for the public to find out how that money is spent.
The story behind the tax break fight in Augusta
If lawmakers can't agree on which tax breaks to eliminate or reduce, then $40 million has to be cut somewhere else in the state budget to keep it balanced.
Some pharmacists get their licenses back despite history of drug abuse
In thirteen cases over the last decade, public’s health jeopardized by allowing people with a history of substance abuse and theft to hold a license to dispense drugs at pharmacies across the state.
Behind the pharmacy counter: the unseen drug theft problem
Most of the people who fill your prescriptions are honest and do their job well. But some of those people in white smocks are thieves, drug addicts or both.