Mainebiz

V I E W P O I N T S W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 3 A P R I L 1 9 , 2 0 2 1 From the Editor T he building boom that has shown no sign of slowing down, even amid the pandemic, is made up of a wide range of projects and planned uses. As Renee Cordes reports in our cover story, there are three hotels underway on the Portland peninsula. See "Staying power," which starts on Page 20. Four years ago, the city of Portland moved its public works depot out of the Bayside neighborhood and opened it up for redevelopment. Now the sixth and final parcel is being developed — and it may be the most ambitious project yet, with 171 apartments and ground-floor retail, as Maureen Milliken reports in "Portland's economic development gamble paying off," which starts on Page 24. New school meets old school with some of Maine's storied educa- tional institutions grow- ing their campuses with some of the latest energy- efficient technologies. See Laurie Schreiber's "Built for good" on Page 28. Peter Van Allen pvanallen@mainebiz.biz To the Editor Featured @ Mainebiz.biz For a daily digest of Maine's top business news, sign up for the Mainebiz Daily Report at mainebiz.biz/enews Get Maine's business news daily at mainebiz.biz and on Twitter (@Mainebiz). Below is our most popular content for the two weeks from March 29 to April 11. 1. LLBean reports 2020 revenue boom, issues double-digit employee bonus 2. 'Quintessential' Old Port building, a frequent photo backdrop, sold 3. Madison tomato grower pays $337K after feds investigate seasonal hiring 4. Maine's tax burden is one of the highest, new study says 5. Hancock Lumber buys central Maine lumber yard 6. With $147M contract, Guilford swab maker goes out of state for 4th plant 7. Is Maine headed for another wave of COVID-19, resulting in more shutdowns for businesses? 8. Will your company require employees to get a COVID-19 vaccine? 9. What Biden's $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan means for Maine 10. $135M bond issue for Moosehead ski area set for FAME public hearing P H O T O / W I L L I A M H A L L 1 bernsteinshur.com Be solid. BE SHUR. The right foundation when there's a lot on the line. Maine's construction projects run the gamut Catchy tax rankings miss the mark Our tax system is foundational to our ability to make basic investments in our economy — reliable infrastructure, good schools, affordable housing, and quality health care for all. Taxes make it possible to address immediate needs and pay forward today's successes for future generations. To craft policy solutions that serve everyone, we must focus on evidence and indicators that illumi- nate the policy debate. And we must ignore shallow analysis that obscures more than it reveals, such as the Wallet Hub ranking on state taxes published recently in Mainebiz ("Maine's tax burden is one of the highest, new study says," published March 31). ese eye-catching rankings feed into the notion that cutting taxes is a surefire way to improve our economy. at is simply false. e relationship between taxes and economic growth has been overstated for years. It is a myth used by wealthy individuals and corporations, who stand to gain most in the short term from lopsided tax cuts. If the goal is economic growth and broadly shared pros- perity, lowering taxes for the wealthy and corporations is a failed approach. States that cut taxes during the last recession recovered slower than those that prioritized continued investment. ese tax burden rankings are extremely blunt instruments. ey ignore meaningful distinctions between states. For example, states without income taxes have lower overall tax burden rankings but tend to rely more heavily on regressive taxes such as the sales tax, resulting in some of the highest tax bur- dens for low-income and working-class households. Similarly, property taxes may be higher in certain communities to boost investments in schools and local services, which strengthen local economies. Tax rankings such as these — without a deeper look under the hood of what's happening in state economies — are a disservice to our public policy debate. — Garrett Martin Executive director at the Maine Center for Economic Policy, a nonpartisan, nonprofit research and policy organization dedicated to improving the economic well- being of low- and middle-income Mainers

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