Beer, wine, soda tax repeal is filed

AUGUSTA — The Fed Up with Taxes campaign handed in more than 90,000 signatures Tuesday to overturn beer, wine and soft drink tax hikes passed by the Legislature earlier this year, virtually assuring the veto attempt will appear on the November ballot.

The signatures were collected in less than 60 days, with the help of people paid for by the industries and businesses affected by the tax hikes. Nearly 75,000 signatures already have been certified by town and city clerks, affording a large cushion over the 55,087 needed to put the tax veto on the ballot, according to the campaign.

The Maine secretary of state will review all the petitions again to make sure there are enough certified signatures.

Newell Augur, the spokesman for the campaign and a lobbyist for the Maine Beverage Association, said the number of signatures gathered was indicative of how unpopular the new taxes are with Mainers.

“Voters from all over the state eagerly signed our petitions because Maine families are struggling in this difficult economy. This is absolutely the worst time to be raising taxes on beverages, health care or anything else,” Mr. Augur said.

Opponents of the veto campaign have taken to calling it a “corporate veto” pointing out that money to fund the override campaign has come from the beer and wine industry, beverage and soft drink associations and Coca-Cola Bottling. But the campaign also had the support of the state’s two largest chambers of commerce, the Maine Restaurant Association, Maine Innkeepers Association, Maine Tourism Association, Maine Merchants Association, local grocers and convenience store operators.

The taxes were approved at the end of the legislative session, with no public debate, to support the state-subsidized health insurance DirigoChoice. Lawmakers replaced, in part, a proposed hike in the cigarette tax that couldn’t get the needed votes in the Senate.

The tax package includes a new $4 tax on a gallon of syrup used to make soda in restaurants; a new 42-cent-per-gallon tax on bottled soft drinks, and, a doubling of the current tax on beer and wine, to 54-cents-a-gallon on beer and 65-cents-a-gallon on wine.

The package also includes a 1.8 percent tax on claims paid by insurance companies and the self-insured to replace a similar fee that supports DirigoChoice insurance today.

Those taxes, which were supposed to go into effect at the start of August, will now be on hold until the referendum is decided in November, if officials validate the petitions, as expected.

Sen. President Beth Edmonds said last week she was not surprised by the veto petition’s apparent success.

“People don’t like taxes. It’s kind of a no-brainer,” she said.

Asked if she thought the veto would pass in November, Sen. Edmonds said that will be up to how well-informed voters are beforehand.

“It depends on whether people understand sufficiently that this is being driven by very larger beverage distributors nationwide, who don’t want to have this tax,” she said.

“Dirigo will remain,” she added, it will just be funded by the current savings offset payment (SOP) or assessment on paid claims that has proven unpopular in the past.

“If they don’t like this tax, they will have the SOP back,” she said.

Opponents to the veto, including the Maine Medical Association, the Maine Education Association and Democratic majority leaders Sen. Libby Mitchell and Rep. Hannah Pingree, had run a campaign to block the petition drive, but their efforts faltered.

They are now expected to run a more organized campaign for the fall and make it about preserving access to health care through DirigoChoice. The insurance plan currently covers less than 13,000 people because enrollment has been capped due to a shortage of funds.

Mr. Augur said his group already is getting ready for the next phase of the campaign.

“We are putting together the elements of a campaign for the fall, and it will be just as efficient and just as effective as our signature-gathering effort,” he said.

“Our filing today is not just a victory for the people of Maine, it also represents a major defeat for the politicians and special interests, who desperately tried to convince Maine people that raising our taxes even higher is a good thing,” said Mr. Augur. “Maine people just aren’t buying it this time.”