 Democrats raised property taxes, but other failed policies also drive up home prices
Republicans are committed to reversing Democrat property tax increases, but the housing issue is even larger and more complex
This is Representative Benjamin Hymes of Waldo with the Weekly Republican Address.
Property owners across Maine are expressing shock and dismay at higher property tax bills, some of which are drastically higher this year.
In our last address, House Republicans detailed 3 recent steps Democrats have taken to increase property taxes.
- First, they removed the popular senior property tax freeze after only one year.
- Second, they eliminated a scheduled increase in the homestead exemption designed to lower taxes for homeowners and benefit municipalities.
- Finally, Democrats removed a bipartisan limit on property tax growth. The law they repealed limited property tax increases to average income growth. The intent was to protect homeowners from drastic increases in their property tax bill without additional voter approval.
This week, we want to outline some of the other factors that contribute to Maine’s housing crisis.
According to the report from CNBC, in Maine, the average family of 4 needs to make an annual income of $114,784 for “basic survival.”
The median family income in Maine is $76,316.
The average household needs to earn at least $100,000 a year to afford the price of a $200,000 median home price in Maine.
This is nearly double the income needed just a short time ago.
According to housing experts, Maine needs 84,300 new homes by 2030.
Governor Mills also created the Office of New Americans to help achieve her goal of attracting 75,000 “new Mainers.” This means Maine will need even more housing units, further exacerbating a known shortage.
Beyond lowering taxes, there is one other area where the legislature can help.
Encouraging private investment in building new housing.
The National Association of Home Builders estimates that “regulatory costs, which include complying with building codes, make up nearly 25% of the cost of a single-family home and more than 40% of the cost of a typical apartment development.”
The next legislature should take a hard look at
- Eliminating excessive regulations;
- Promoting careers in the skilled trades;
- Alleviating unnecessary roadblocks to construction;
- Promoting reasonable and cost-effective building codes; and
- Reducing fees and other upfront costs associated with housing construction.
Affordable housing has many variables, but there are things that the Maine legislature can do to address the problem beyond taxpayer-funded programs. It needs to engage the private sector in helping find solutions.
Republicans fought unsuccessfully to protect property taxpayers and use record surplus revenues to lower taxes for all Mainers, especially low to middle income earners.
Our proposals would have gone a long way toward addressing the affordability problem in Maine.
Democrat majorities in the House and Senate prevented us from giving you relief.
Unlike Republicans, lower energy costs, lower taxes, and lowering barriers to new home construction are not their priorities.
It does not have to be this way!
Mainers should demand that their elected representatives focus on the same everyday issues that their constituents face every day.
Legislative Republicans will continue to fight for you.
Please help us spread the message by listening, subscribing, sharing, and following us on Facebook, X, and Instagram.
This has been Representative Benjamin Hymes with the Weekly Republican Radio Address.
###
Representative Benjamin Hymes
of Waldo is currently serving his first term representing House District 38, which includes the towns of Brooks, Jackson, Knox, Monroe, Swanville, Thorndike, Unity, Waldo, and Frankfort. He serves on the 131st Legislature’s Joint Standing Committee on Veteran’s and Legal Affairs.
|
|
