AUGUSTA – Mainers could contribute to their favorite state government programs through the state Web site under legislation a Sabattus lawmaker proposed.

Republican Rep. Scott Lansley said his is a serious proposal – even as he smiled at its name, the Tax Me More Fund.

“I got a lot of people who laughed about it at first and then said that’s a good idea and signed on as co-sponsors,” Lansley said last week. He said the name makes a broader political point.

“People are either going to be hypocrites about it and not do it, or they are going to be out there saying, ‘I should pay more taxes for this or that program,'” he said. “Well, if you think that a program needs more money, here you go, pay more in taxes through this fund.”

Lansley said the measure would make it easy for Mainers to pay additional “taxes” by making contributions through the state government Web site.

Sen. Joe Perry, D-Bangor, co-chairman of the Legislature’s Taxation Committee, laughed when informed of the measure. He said it is clear the bill is not “serious” but an attempt to make a political statement.

“I think he is looking for a way to make a statement about the tax burden here in Maine,” Perry said. “I don’t think this bill will be taken very seriously.”

The measure has all Republican co-sponsors except for Democrat-turned-independent Rep. Tom Saviello of Wilton. He said he signed on to the bill in part to make a statement about Maine’s tax burden but also to give Mainers the opportunity to “pay” more in taxes by contributing to a program that they strongly support.

“For example, people who are so gung-ho about [the] Land for Maine’s Future [program could] use this to pay more in taxes to support that program,” he said. “They can put their money where their mouth is.”

Saviello said supporters of the measure are looking into whether the contributions to the state under the program would be deductible on a person’s federal income taxes.

Finance Commissioner Becky Wyke said the state doesn’t need such legislation for people to contribute to the state. “There are provisions for the state to accept gifts.”

In an e-mail follow-up to an interview, Wyke said a 1975 law allows gifts to the state, with the governor “authorized to accept in the name of the state any and all gifts, bequests, grants or conveyances to the state of Maine.” She does not recall any organized effort to get Mainers to contribute to the state and is doubtful it will result in significant contributions.

“We have the income tax checkoffs for several programs,” she said, “and they don’t generate a lot of money.”

Lansley, who is serving his first term on the Tax Committee, said that while he understands why some might chuckle at his proposal, he believes there should be a way for Mainers to easily contribute to the state for various programs if they want to.

“People to contribute to the [U.S.] Treasury to reduce the federal deficit,” he said. “Why not let them contribute through the [state] Web site and show what they want to pay for.”

Perry agreed with Wyke that the state already provides ways for Mainers to contribute to state programs above the taxes they pay. He said allowing contributions through the state Web site could prove more costly than the revenue it would generate.

“We are going to take a look at the existing checkoffs this session,” Perry said. “It does cost something to [administer] these programs, and we need to see if there is a benefit from continuing all of them.”

On the individual income tax form this year, Mainers will be able to contribute to one of the three recognized political parties; the Endangered & Nongame Wildlife Fund; the Maine Children’s Trust; the Human Leukocyte Antigen Screening Fund; the Companion Animal Sterilization Fund; the Maine Military Family Relief Fund; the Maine Veterans’ Memorial Cemetery Maintenance Fund; and the Maine Asthma & Lung Disease Research Fund.