An Act To Provide Property Tax Relief to Maine's Working Families
Maine Legislature, Session 127, LD 0575
Committee: Taxation
Sponsors: MAREAN, LIBBY, BATTLE, RYKERSON, TUELL, ALFOND, CYRWAY, KATZ, VOLK
Amends: 36 MRSA §683, 36 MRSA §1752

Legislative Document 
No. 575 
H.P. 399 
House of Representatives, February 26, 2015 
An Act To Provide Property Tax Relief to Maine's Working 
Families 
Reference to the Committee on Taxation suggested and ordered printed. 
ROBERT B. HUNT 
Clerk 
Presented by Representative MAREAN of Hollis. 
Cosponsored by Senator LIBBY of Androscoggin and 
Representatives: BATTLE of South Portland, RYKERSON of Kittery, TUELL of East 
Machias, Senators: ALFOND of Cumberland, CYRWAY of Kennebec, KATZ of Kennebec, 
VOLK of Cumberland. 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  36 MRSA §683, sub-§1, as amended by PL 2009, c. 213, Pt. YYY, §1 
and affected by c. 652, Pt. A, §63, is further amended to read: 
1.  Exemption amount.  Except for assessments for special benefits, the just value of 
$10,000 $20,000 of the homestead of a permanent resident of this State who has owned a 
homestead in this State for the preceding 12 months is exempt from taxation.  In 
determining the local assessed value of the exemption, the assessor shall multiply the 
amount of the exemption by the ratio of current just value upon which the assessment is 
based as furnished in the assessor's annual return pursuant to section 383.  If the title to 
the homestead is held by the applicant jointly or in common with others, the exemption 
may not exceed $10,000 $20,000 of the just value of the homestead, but may be 
apportioned among the owners who reside on the property to the extent of their respective 
interests.  A municipality responsible for administering the homestead exemption has no 
obligation to create separate accounts for each partial interest in a homestead owned 
jointly or in common. 
Sec. 2.  36 MRSA §1752, sub-§1-I is enacted to read: 
1-I.  Amusement, entertainment and recreation services.  "Amusement, 
entertainment and recreation services" is defined pursuant to this subsection. 
A.  "Amusement, entertainment and recreation services" means the following 
services: 
(1)  Admission fees to entertainment venues and performances, including 
theaters, movies, lectures, concerts, festivals, amusement parks, water parks, 
fairgrounds, except for licensed agricultural fairs, racetracks, carnivals, circuses, 
sports activities, stadiums, amphitheaters, museums, planetariums, animal parks, 
petting zoos, aquariums, historical sites and convention centers; 
(2)  Fees charged for participation in or entry to golf courses, miniature golf 
courses, bowling alleys, swimming pools, skating rinks, ski lifts, billiard parlors, 
gymnasiums, go-cart courses, tennis and racquetball courts and paintball; 
(3)  Admission fees charged for exhibition shows, such as auto, boat, camping, 
home, garden, animal and antique shows; 
(4)  Fees charged for scenic and sight-seeing excursions, including aircraft, 
helicopter, balloon, blimp, watercraft, railroad, bus, trolley and wagon rides, 
whitewater rafting and guided recreation, but excluding scenic and sight-seeing 
excursions on federally navigable waters; 
(5)  Fees charged for entertainment services such as those provided by bands, 
orchestras, disc jockeys, comedians, clowns, jugglers, children's entertainers and 
ventriloquists; and 
(6)  Proceeds from arcade games. 
B.  "Amusement, entertainment and recreation services" does not include the 
following services: 
(1)  Admission to a licensed agricultural fair or charges for participation in any 
events or activities occurring at the fair organized by a school or incorporated 
nonprofit organization if all the proceeds from the event or activity are used for 
the charitable purposes of the school or organization; 
(2)  Fees charged by health clubs, fitness centers and other facilities and 
swimming pools associated with those clubs, centers or facilities that are intended 
predominantly for human physical training and improvement rather than 
recreation and play; or 
(3)  Admission to: 
(a)  Museums and aquariums operated by a governmental entity or 
incorporated nonprofit organization; 
(b)  Concerts, dance productions, theatrical productions, sports activities or 
similar events or activities organized and performed by a school or 
incorporated nonprofit organization if all proceeds of the event or activity are 
used for the charitable purposes of that school or organization; or 
(c)  Festivals and special events organized by governmental entities, schools 
or incorporated nonprofit organizations if all the proceeds of the festival or 
special event are directed to support a charitable purpose. 
Sec. 3.  36 MRSA §1752, sub-§17-B, as amended by PL 2013, c. 156, §2, is 
further amended to read: 
17-B.  Taxable service.  "Taxable service" means the rental of living quarters in a 
hotel, rooming house or tourist or trailer camp; the transmission and distribution of 
electricity; the rental or lease of an automobile, a camper trailer, or a motor home, as 
defined in Title 29-A, section 101, subsection 40; the rental or lease of a pickup truck or 
van with a gross vehicle weight of less than 26,000 pounds from a person primarily 
engaged in the business of renting automobiles; the sale of an extended service contract 
on an automobile or truck that entitles the purchaser to specific benefits in the service of 
the automobile or truck for a specific duration; amusement, entertainment and recreation 
services; and the sale of prepaid calling service. 
Sec. 4.  Application.  That section of this Act that amends the Maine Revised 
Statutes, Title 36, section 683, subsection 1 applies to property tax years beginning on or 
after April 1, 2016. 
Sec. 5.  Effective date.  This Act takes effect October 1, 2015. 
SUMMARY 
This bill increases the exemption amount available under the Maine resident 
homestead property tax exemption from $10,000 to $20,000.  Currently, the State 
reimburses municipalities 50% of the taxes lost by reason of the homestead exemption.  
In order to offset the increased cost to the State of the doubling of the homestead 
exemption, this bill also imposes the sales and use tax on amusement, entertainment and 
recreation services, such as admission fees to entertainment venues and performances, 
including movies, theaters and amusement parks, participation fees, including for 
bowling, golf or skiing, and fees for entertainment services, including those provided by 
bands, orchestras, disc jockeys and comedians.