Governor LePage’s Supplemental Budget Contains Several Tax Provisions
The supplemental budget recently proposed by Governor LePage for the fiscal year ending June 3, 2011 contains a number of changes to Maine’s tax statutes. These changes are primarily procedural and do not affect Maine tax rates.
As expected, the proposed budget would conform Maine’s income tax statutes to the U.S. Internal Revenue Code as amended through December 31, 2010.
Another change is increasing the time that a taxpayer has for filing an amended Maine return after a federal change affecting the taxpayer’s Maine tax liability. Instead of the current 90 days, taxpayers would be given 180 days to file an amended return. The budget also clarifies when this time period commences.
The time period for responding to requests for information from Maine Revenue Services, after which an estimated assessment will be issued, would be extended from 30 days to 60 days.
Finally, taxpayers would be allowed to apply for a refund within three years of when they had incorrectly paid or overpaid a tax, instead of the current two years. The three year period for requesting a refund from the date when a return was filed remains unchanged.
The supplemental budget will now be considered by the Legislature. We will be monitoring the process for additional changes that may affect taxpayers.
