An Act To
Maine Legislature, Session 129, LD 0420
Committee Amendment CA_B_H819 (House)
Amends: 36 MRSA §4102, 36 MRSA §4119, 36 MRSA §4120

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT “      ” to H.P. 329, L.D. 420, Bill, “An Act To 
Amend the Maine Exclusion Amount in the Estate Tax”
Amend the bill by striking out everything after the enacting clause and inserting the 
following:
'Sec. 1.  36 MRSA §4102, sub-§5, as amended by PL 2017, c. 474, Pt. G, §1, is 
repealed and the following enacted in its place:
5.  Maine exclusion amount.  "Maine exclusion amount" means:
A.  For estates of decedents dying on or after January 1, 2013 but before January 1, 
2016, $2,000,000;
B.  For estates of decedents dying on or after January 1, 2016 but before January 1, 
2018, the basic exclusion amount determined for the calendar year in accordance with 
the Code, Section 2010(c)(3);
C.  For estates of decedents dying on or after January 1, 2018 but before January 1, 
2020, $5,600,000; and
D.  For estates of decedents dying on or after January 1, 2020, $2,000,000 and any 
additional exclusion amount allowed under section 4120.
Sec. 2.  36 MRSA §4119, as amended by PL 2019, c. 607, Pt. D, §5, is further 
amended to read:
§4119.  Annual adjustments for inflation in 2018
Beginning in In 2018 and each year thereafter, on or about September 15th, for the 
estates of decedents who die during the succeeding calendar year, the assessor shall 
multiply the cost-of-living adjustment by the dollar amount contained in section 4102, 
subsection 5 applicable to estates of decedents dying on or after January 1, 2018 but 
before January 1, 2020. For the purposes of this section, the "cost-of-living adjustment" is 
the Chained Consumer Price Index for the 12-month period ending June 30th of the 
preceding calendar year divided by the Chained Consumer Price Index for the 12-month 
Date: 
(Filing No. H-          )
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT “      ” to H.P. 329, L.D. 420
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
period ending June 30, 2017.  If the dollar amount, adjusted by the application of the 
cost-of-living adjustment, is not a multiple of $10,000, any increase must be rounded to 
the nearest multiple of $10,000.
Sec. 3.  36 MRSA §4120 is enacted to read:
§4120.  Additional exclusion amount for family farms, aquaculture, fishing and 
wood harvesting businesses
1.  Definitions.  As used in this section, unless the context otherwise indicates, the 
following terms have the following meanings.
A.  "Commercial agricultural production" means commercial production of crops, 
maple syrup, honey, plants, trees, compost and livestock.
B.  "Commercial aquacultural production" means the commercial production of 
cultured fish, shellfish, seaweed or other marine plants for human and animal 
consumption, including:
(1)  All cultivating activities occurring at hatcheries or nurseries, from the egg, 
larval or spore stages to the transfer of the product to a growing site; and
(2)  All cultivating activities occurring on water, from the receipt of fish, 
shellfish, seaweed or other marine plants from onshore facilities to the delivery of 
harvested products to onshore facilities for processing.
C.  "Commercial fishing" means attempting to catch fish or any other marine animals 
or organisms with the intent of disposing of them for profit or trade in commercial 
channels and does not include subsistence fishing for personal use, sport fishing or 
charter boat fishing where the vessel is used for carrying sport anglers to available 
fishing grounds.
D.  "Commercial wood harvesting" means the commercial severance and yarding of 
trees for sale or for processing into logs, pulpwood, bolt wood, wood chips, stud 
wood, poles, pilings, biomass or fuel wood or other products commonly known as 
forest products.
E.  "Depreciable machinery and equipment" means, except as otherwise provided by 
this paragraph, that part of the following machinery and equipment for which 
depreciation is allowable under the Code and repair parts for that machinery and 
equipment:
(1)  New or used machinery and equipment for use directly and primarily in 
commercial 
agricultural 
production, 
including 
self-propelled 
vehicles; 
attachments and equipment for the production of field and orchard crops; new or 
used machinery and equipment for use directly and primarily in production of 
milk, maple syrup or honey, animal husbandry and production of livestock, 
including poultry; new or used machinery and equipment used in the removal and 
storage of manure; and new or used machinery and equipment not used directly 
and primarily in commercial agricultural production, but used to transport 
potatoes from a truck into a storage location;
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT “      ” to H.P. 329, L.D. 420
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
(2)  New or used watercraft, nets, traps, cables, tackle and related equipment 
necessary to and used directly and primarily in commercial fishing;
(3)  New or used watercraft, machinery or equipment used directly and primarily 
for commercial aquacultural production, including, but not limited to: nets; ropes; 
cables; anchors and anchor weights; shackles and other hardware; buoys; fish 
tanks; fish totes; oxygen tanks; pumping systems; generators; water-heating 
systems; boilers and related pumping systems; diving equipment; feeders and 
related equipment; power-generating equipment; tank water-level sensors; 
aboveground piping; water-oxygenating systems; fish-grading equipment; safety 
equipment; and sea cage systems, including walkways and frames, lights, netting, 
buoys, shackles, ropes, cables, anchors and anchor weights; and
(4)  New or used machinery and equipment for use directly and primarily in 
commercial wood harvesting, including, but not limited to, chain saws, skidders, 
delimbers, forwarders, slashers, feller bunchers and wood chippers.
"Depreciable machinery and equipment" does not include a motor vehicle as defined 
in section 1752, subsection 7 or a trailer as defined in section 1752, subsection 19-A.
F.  "Family member" means, whether by blood or legal adoption, the decedent's: 
brother or sister or the spouse of a brother or sister; parent or grandparent or the 
spouse of a parent or grandparent; ancestor; or lineal descendant.
G.  "Farmland" means land that is or could be classified as farmland under chapter 
105, subchapter 10 and includes personal property that is exempt from property tax 
under section 655, subsection 1, paragraph C, D, M or O.
2.  Additional exclusion amount.  Notwithstanding any provision of law to the 
contrary, an additional exclusion amount of up to $3,800,000 is allowed for farmland or 
depreciable machinery and equipment that is part of an estate of a decedent dying on or 
after January 1, 2020 that is transferred to a family member of the decedent.
3.  Requirements for additional exclusion; report.  In order to qualify for the 
additional exclusion from the estate tax pursuant to this section:
A.  The farmland or depreciable machinery and equipment must be transferred to a 
family member;
B.  For at least 5 years following the transfer, the farmland or depreciable machinery 
and equipment must remain the property of the family member to whom the farmland 
or depreciable machinery and equipment was transferred or, in the event of the death 
of that transferee, a family member of that transferee; and
C.  During the 5 years following the transfer:
(1)  The land transferred must continue to meet the requirements for classification 
as farmland under chapter 105, subchapter 10, except that the gross income 
requirements of section 1102, subsection 4 must be met for every year of the 5 
years following transfer; and
(2)  The depreciable machinery and equipment transferred must continue to be 
used for commercial agricultural production, commercial aquacultural 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT “      ” to H.P. 329, L.D. 420
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
production, commercial fishing or commercial wood harvesting for every year of 
the 5 years following transfer.
A family member to whom farmland or depreciable machinery and equipment is 
transferred who wishes to claim the additional exclusion under this section shall file a 
report annually for the 5 years following the transfer with the assessor certifying that the 
farmland or depreciable machinery and equipment continues to qualify for the additional 
exclusion.
4.  Failure to maintain requirements for additional exclusion.  If at any time 
during the 5 years following the decedent's death the farmland or depreciable machinery 
and equipment transferred does not meet the requirements of subsection 3, the owner of 
the farmland or depreciable machinery and equipment is subject to the applicable tax 
specified in this chapter based on the fair market value of the farmland or depreciable 
machinery and equipment as of the date of the decedent's death.
5.  Rules.  The assessor shall adopt routine technical rules pursuant to Title 5, chapter 
375, subchapter 2-A to implement this section, including determining the method of 
providing certification of qualification for the additional exclusion provided by this 
section.
Sec. 4.  Appropriations and allocations.  The following appropriations and 
allocations are made.
ADMINISTRATIVE AND FINANCIAL SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF
Revenue Services, Bureau of 0002
Initiative: Provides funding for one Tax Section Manager position, one Senior Tax 
Examiner position, 3 Tax Examiner positions and related costs to process and audit 
additional estate tax returns.
' 
Amend the bill by relettering or renumbering any nonconsecutive Part letter or 
section number to read consecutively.
SUMMARY
This amendment creates an additional exclusion amount from the estate tax for 
family farms, aquaculture, fishing and wood harvesting businesses of up to $3,800,000. 
This additional exclusion applies to farmland or depreciable machinery and equipment 
used in agriculture, aquaculture, fishing or wood harvesting that is inherited by a family 
member and remains in commercial use for 5 years following transfer.
GENERAL FUND
2019-20
2020-21
POSITIONS - LEGISLATIVE COUNT
0.000
5.000
Personal Services
$0
$269,697
All Other
$0
$30,169
GENERAL FUND TOTAL
$0
$299,866
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT “      ” to H.P. 329, L.D. 420
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
This amendment also makes a technical correction to the law that ends the annual 
adjustment for inflation of the exclusion amount for tax years after 2019 and includes 
appropriations for administrative costs.
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED
(See attached)
Revised: 07/10/20
LD 420
LR 573(05)
FY 2019-20
FY 2020-21
Projections 
FY 2021-22
Projections 
FY 2022-23
Net Cost (Savings)
General Fund
$0
($12,000,134)
($15,907,850)
($15,893,824)
Appropriations/Allocations
General Fund
$0
$299,866
$492,150
$506,176
Revenue
General Fund
$0
$12,300,000
$16,400,000
$16,400,000
Fiscal Detail and Notes
The bill decreases the estate tax exclusion amount from $5,600,000 to $2,000,000 for estates of decedents dying on or 
after January 1, 2020 and creates an additional exclusion for family farms, aquaculture, fishing and wood harvesting 
businesses of up to $3,800,000.  It is estimated to increase General Fund revenue by $12,300,000 in fiscal year 2020-
21.  The bill includes a General Fund appropriation of $299,866 in fiscal year 2020-21 to the Department of 
Administrative and Financial Services for one Tax Section Manager position, one Senior Tax Examiner position, 3 
Tax Examiner positions and related costs to process and audit additional estate tax returns.
Fiscal Note
An Act To Amend the Maine Exclusion Amount in the Estate Tax
Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment " "
Committee: Taxation
Fiscal Note Required: Yes
LR0573(05) - Fiscal Note - Page 1 of 1