An Act To Provide Local Sales Tax Increment Disbursements
Maine Legislature, Session 126, LD 0401
Committee: Taxation
Sponsors: CHASE, FLOOD, BENNETT, GOODE, KESCHL, KNIGHT, MALABY, POULIOT, HASKELL
Amends: 30-A MRSA §5686

Legislative Document 
No. 401 
H.P. 276 
House of Representatives, February 12, 2013 
An Act To Provide Local Sales Tax Increment Disbursements 
Reference to the Committee on Taxation suggested and ordered printed. 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Presented by Representative CHASE of Wells. 
Cosponsored by Senator FLOOD of Kennebec and 
Representatives: BENNETT of Kennebunk, GOODE of Bangor, KESCHL of Belgrade, 
KNIGHT of Livermore Falls, MacDONALD of Old Orchard Beach, MALABY of Hancock, 
POULIOT of Augusta, Senator: HASKELL of Cumberland. 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  30-A MRSA §5686 is enacted to read: 
§5686.  Local sales tax increment disbursement 
1.  Local sales tax increment.  Beginning with fiscal year 2015-16, the State Tax 
Assessor shall gather and maintain information that demonstrates the amount of revenue 
and the amount of local sales tax increment for each fiscal year that is attributable to each 
municipality and the unorganized territory under Title 36, Part 3.  For the purposes of this 
section, "local sales tax increment" means 5% of the increase in revenue attributable to a 
municipality or the unorganized territory under Title 36, Part 3 over the amount 
attributable to the municipality or the unorganized territory in fiscal year 2015-16. 
2.  Transfers.  Beginning with fiscal year 2016-17, the State Tax Assessor shall 
certify to the State Controller by September 30th annually the local sales tax increment 
amounts needed to make payments under this section.  The State Controller shall, within 
days after the certification, transfer those amounts to a local sales tax increment 
account, which must be established for this purpose. 
3.  Payments to municipalities and the unorganized territory.  The Treasurer of 
State shall pay by October 1st annually to each municipality and the Unorganized 
Territory Education and Services Fund under Title 36, chapter 115 from the local sales 
tax increment account established pursuant to subsection 2 an amount equal to the local 
sales tax increment.  If the local sales tax increment for a municipality or the unorganized 
territory is $0 or less, a payment may not be made for that fiscal year.  The State 
Treasurer shall pay the amount due under this section and provide an accounting of the 
amount to the municipality or the fiscal administrator of the unorganized territory no later 
than 6 months after the end of that fiscal year.  The amount received under this section by 
a municipality or the fund may not reduce or be reduced by any other revenue sharing or 
state aid received by the municipality or the fund.  An amount received by a municipality 
or the fund under this section must be used by the municipality to reduce property tax 
revenues in that municipality in an amount equal to the amount received in the fiscal year 
that the revenue is received. 
SUMMARY 
This bill requires payments beginning in fiscal year 2016-17 to municipalities of an 
amount equal to 5% of the difference between the sales and use tax attributable to the 
municipality in a fiscal year and the comparable amounts for fiscal year 2015-16, referred 
to as the "local sales tax increment."  If the amount of sales and use tax collected in a 
fiscal year in a municipality is below that collected in fiscal year 2015-16, then the 
municipality receives no payment.  The amount received may not reduce any other state 
aid or revenue sharing received by that municipality, and the municipality must use the 
amount received to reduce property taxes by the same amount.  The Unorganized 
Territory Education and Services Fund receives the same payment as municipalities and 
is subject to the same requirement to use the revenue to reduce property taxes.