An Act To Remove Taxes on Equipment Used for Business
Maine Legislature, Session 125, LD 0822
Committee: Taxation
Sponsors: DAMON, BEAULIEU, CHIPMAN, CROCKETT, FOSTER, JOHNSON, WILLETTE
Amends: 36 MRSA §691

Legislative Document 
No. 822 
H.P. 618 
House of Representatives, March 3, 2011 
An Act To Remove Taxes on Equipment Used for Business 
Reference to the Committee on Taxation suggested and ordered printed. 
HEATHER J.R. PRIEST 
Clerk 
Presented by Representative DAMON of Bangor. 
Cosponsored by Representatives: BEAULIEU of Auburn, CHIPMAN of Portland, 
CROCKETT of Bethel, FOSTER of Augusta, JOHNSON of Eddington, WILLETTE of 
Presque Isle. 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  36 MRSA §691, sub-§1, ¶A, as amended by PL 2009, c. 571, Pt. II, §1 
and affected by §5, is further amended to read: 
A.  "Eligible business equipment" means qualified property that, in the absence of 
this subchapter, would first be subject to assessment under this Part on or after April 
1, 2008.  "Eligible business equipment" includes, without limitation, repair parts, 
replacement parts, replacement equipment, additions, accessions and accessories to 
other qualified business property that first became subject to assessment under this 
Part before April 1, 2008 if the part, addition, equipment, accession or accessory 
would, in the absence of this subchapter, first be subject to assessment under this Part 
on or after April 1, 2008.  "Eligible business equipment" also includes inventory 
parts. 
"Eligible business equipment" does not include: 
(1) Office furniture, including, without limitation, tables, chairs, desks, 
bookcases, filing cabinets and modular office partitions; 
(2) Lamps and lighting fixtures used primarily for the purpose of providing 
general purpose office or worker lighting; 
(3) Property owned or used by an excluded person; 
(4) Telecommunications personal property subject to the tax imposed by section 
457; 
(5)  Gambling machines or devices, including any device, machine, paraphernalia 
or equipment that is used or usable in the playing phases of any gambling activity 
as that term is defined in Title 8, section 1001, subsection 15, whether that 
activity consists of gambling between persons or gambling by a person involving 
the playing of a machine. "Gambling machines or devices" includes, without 
limitation: 
(a)  Associated equipment as defined in Title 8, section 1001, subsection 2; 
(b)  Computer equipment used directly and primarily in the operation of a 
slot machine as defined in Title 8, section 1001, subsection 39; 
(c)  An electronic video machine as defined in Title 17, section 1831, 
subsection 4; 
(d)  Equipment used in the playing phases of lottery schemes; and 
(e)  Repair and replacement parts of a gambling machine or device;  
(6)  Property located at a retail sales facility and used primarily in a retail sales 
activity unless the property is owned by a business that operates a retail sales 
facility in the State exceeding 100,000 square feet of interior customer selling 
space that is used primarily for retail sales and whose Maine-based operations 
derive less than 30% of their total annual revenue on a calendar year basis from 
sales that are made at a retail sales facility located in the State or by a business 
that operates a retail sales facility in the State that does not exceed 20,000 square 
feet of interior customer selling space that is used primarily for retail sales.  For 
purposes of this subparagraph, the following terms have the following meanings: 
(a)  "Primarily" means more than 50% of the time; 
(b)  "Retail sales activity" means an activity associated with the selection and 
purchase of goods or services or the rental of tangible personal property.  
"Retail sales activity" does not include production as defined in section 1752, 
subsection 9-B; and 
(c)  "Retail sales facility" means a structure used to serve customers who are 
physically present at the facility for the purpose of selecting and purchasing 
goods or services at retail or for renting tangible personal property.  "Retail 
sales facility" does not include a separate structure that is used as a 
warehouse or call center facility;  
(7)  Property that is not entitled to an exemption by reason of the additional 
limitations imposed by subsection 2; or 
(8)  Personal property that would otherwise be entitled to exemption under this 
subchapter used primarily to support a telecommunications antenna used by a 
telecommunications business subject to the tax imposed by section 457. 
SUMMARY 
This bill extends the business equipment property tax exemption to office furniture, 
including tables, chairs, desks, bookcases, filing cabinets and modular office partitions, 
and to otherwise eligible property located at a retail sales facility with interior customer 
selling space that is smaller than 20,000 square feet.