An Act To Amend the Penalty for Withdrawal of Land from the Maine Tree Growth Tax Law Program
Maine Legislature, Session 124, LD 0332
Committee: Taxation
Sponsors: WEAVER, BOWMAN, BICKFORD, GIFFORD, HA YES, JOY, PINKHAM, SARTY, PLOWMAN
Amends: 36 MRSA §581

Legislative Document 
No. 332 
H.P.268 
House of Representatives, February 3,2009 
An Act To Amend the Penalty for Withdrawal of Land from the 
Maine Tree Growth Tax Law Program 
Reference to the Committee on Taxation suggested and ordered printed. 
Presented by Representative WEAVER of York. 
Cosponsored by Senator BOWMAN of York and 
~7!4~ct 1?1· mO£~v~{ 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Representatives: BICKFORD of Auburn, CRA Y of Palmyra, GIFFORD of Lincoln, HA YES 
of Buckfield, JOY of Crystal, PINKHAM of Lexington TOWllS11ip, SARTY of Denmark, 
Senator: PLOWMAN of Penobscot. 
PrilltL!J llli rCL)dcd p'lIl1'r 
Be it enacted by the People ofthe State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 36 MRSA §581, sub-§3, as repealed and replaced by PL 2007, c. 627, 
§ 16, is amended to read: 
3. Penalty. If land is withdrawn from taxation under this subchapter, the assessor 
shall impose a penalty upon the owner. +fie Subject to the limitation in subsection 3-A, 
the penalty is the greater of: 
A. An amount equ(]l to the taxes that would have been assessed on the first day of 
April for the 5 tax years, or any lesser number of tax years starting with the year in 
which the land was first classified, preceding the withdrawal had that land been 
assessed in each of those years at its just value on the date of withdrawal. That 
amount must be reduced by all taxes paid on that land over the preceding 5 years, or 
any lesser number of tax years starting with the year in which the land was first 
classified, and increased by interest at the prevailing municipal rate from the date or 
dates on which those amounts would have been payable; and 
B. An amount computed by multiplying the amount, if any, by which the just value 
of the land on the date of withdrawal exceeds the 100% valuation of the land pursuant 
to this subchapter on the preceding April 1 st by the following rates. 
(1) If the land was subject to valuation under this subchapter for 10 years or less 
prior to the date of withdrawal, the rate is 30%. 
(2) If the land was subject to valuation under this subchapter for more than 10 
years prior to the date of withdrawal, the rate is that percentage obtained by 
subtracting 1 % from 30% for each full year beyond 10 years that the land was 
subject to valuation under this subchapter prior to the date of withdrawal, except 
that the minimum rate is 20%. 
For purposes of this subsection, just value at the time of withdrawal is the assessed just 
value of comparable property in the municipality adjusted by the municipality's certified 
assessment ratio. 
Sec. 2. 36 MRSA §581, sub-§3-A is enacted to read: 
3-A. Limitation on penalty. The penalty imposed under subsection 3 may not 
exceed the amount of actual taxes that would have been due on the land had the land not 
been subject to taxation under this subchapter, plus any applicable interest on that 
amount. 
SUMMARY 
This bill specifies that the penalty imposed on land that is withdrawn from taxation 
under the Maine Tree Growth Tax Law may not exceed the amount of actual taxes that 
would have been due on the land had it not been taxed under the Maine Tree Growth Tax 
Law, plus any applicable interest. 
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