Cryer Quoted in Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting Article on Tax ‘Game’

Marc Cryer, director of the University of Maine’s Bureau of Labor Education, was quoted in a Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting article titled “Tax ‘game’ allows some towns to protect their state at expense of other towns.” The report states every year the state shares money it collects in taxes with Maine’s schools and municipalities. The state determines which communities get how much by a formula that includes the size of the town and the total value of its real estate. According to the article, an exception that lets some richer municipalities and school districts look poorer to get more money is tax increment financing, or TIF. Cryer said he’s not aware of any data that shows TIFs improve local economies or increase jobs in Maine. The article also cited a 2000 report by the state’s Economic Development Incentive Commission that quoted UMaine economist Todd Gabe who found “there is not a statistically significant relationship between employment growth and an establishment’s participation in the TIF program, all other things being equal.” The Bangor Daily News and Portland Press Herald also carried the report.