EXPORTING A TAX

GrowSmart President Alan Caron has a quick and effective answer for critics of a proposal to increase the Maine lodging tax to 10 percent from the present 7 percent. He asked those attending a Husson College business breakfast to raise their hands if they had ever phoned ahead to Florida or some other vacation site to ask about the lodging tax there. Not one hand went up. And he got a big and appreciative laugh.

The tax increase is a proposal in Brooking Institution’s report “Charting Maine’s Future,” sponsored and promoted by the nonprofit citizens’ organization. The tax would finance a $190 million bond issue to, as GrowSmart puts it, “invest in Maine’s heart and soul to bolster our ‘brand.'” Specifically, it would revitalize cities and towns, protect forests and farms and working waterfronts, improve access to fishing and hunting and boating areas, and increase tourism promotion.

It is not the only way to raise money for these valuable programs, and cutting other government services may be as effective, but the Brookings report wants to put much of the cost burden on “Maine’s millions of visitors who derive large benefits from the state’s coastlines, forests and towns while placing substantial pressure on them.” Longwoods International, Maine’s tourism adviser, says that affordability is a low concern on travelers’ priority lists.

The Maine Hospitality and Tourism Alliance has hired a Portland public relations firm to fight the increase. It argues that cost does, indeed, matter to people planning a wedding or a business meeting in Maine. It promises to gather testimony from inns and hotels that a majority of their customers are Maine residents, not out-of-staters.

The lodging industry group points out that the proposed 40 percent increase would boost Maine’s lodging tax higher than the tax in New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts and upstate New York. Greg Dugal, executive director of the Maine Innkeepers Association, stresses the competitive nature of the lodging business but says he hopes the Legislature will work out a compromise.

The lodging business and the general public will have plenty of opportunity to argue the case. GrowSmart plans to hold regional town meetings in all 35 Senate districts in March and April. Residents will have a chance to raise their hand in response to Mr. Caron’s question – or leave it down if a lodging tax increase seems justified.