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Maine’s households, while earning less than average households in other states, pay more for the most basic services. Maine residents face higher costs for energy due to the cold climate and dependence on home heating oil, while other regions rely on lower priced, natural gas for heating. Maine’s electricity prices are some of the highest in the country and Maine’s healthcare costs and thus health insurance costs are far higher than national averages.  Add to that high-cost state and local governments and it is clear that families have to sacrifice to make ends meet.

MPSRG's latest analysis shows that Maine’s average households cannot maintain the same standard of living as their counterparts with similar earnings in other states. Comparing expenditures for the typical Maine household to other households with similar earnings levels show that because of Maine’s high costs for energy, healthcare and government spending, Maine households make sacrifices or go into debt to make ends meet.  Download analysis here.

In study after study, Maine is listed as one of the highest taxed states in the nation. The share of our personal incomes that is paid in state and local taxes – Maine’s tax burden - consistently ranks among the top few states in the country. While study methods differ in complexity and detail, the leading sources for tax and spending data agree that Maine taxpayers face a high tax burden.

There are many theories about why Maine’s tax burden is so high.

Does Maine have the “neediest” population as some may suggest? Do we have more people living in poverty than other states? Are our people sicker, less able to manage on their own? Some believe that Maine’s aging population puts a strain on government spending.  Others say that the rural nature and low density of population require more infrastructure and and impose a higher cost to operate and maintain and to deliver services Some have asserted that our high taxes are so high not for any of the above reasons but because we provide more services than other states and pay more for those services than other states pay.

Maine Public Spending Research Group explores these theories by taking a closer look at the state demographics, spending patterns and providing comparisons to other states to understand similarities and differences.

Maine’s Tax and Spending Burden - It’s Lonely at the Top, is the first in a series of briefs to be published by the Maine Public Spending Research Group, comparing Maine’s tax burden and basic economic and demographic characteristics with those of other states to answer the questions about whether these factors are what drive of our high tax burden.

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