Taxes Matter 24: How Maine’s Courts set Tax Policy
A few days ago, Forbes magazine ran an unflattering article on a recent court decision on Maine’s tax policy that will give Maine’s business tax climate another black-eye.
Now, I’m not a lawyer and this article will make a non-lawyer’s eyes water; but David Crocker (our Director of MHPC’s Center for Constitutional Government) assures me that this court decision is not good for Maine. Here is the money-line from the story:
The dissenting judge was concerned about the implications of the decision for cross-border legal practice:
The majority opinion will force New Hampshire lawyers who are partners of Maine interstate law firms to give up their partnership status and remain employees, or face Maine income tax. This has negative ramifications for these lawyers and will inhibit Maine firms from merging with firms in other states. In order to remain associated with Maine firms, out-of-state attorneys will be forced to give up the major benefits of partnership.
For those of you out there who don’t believe taxes matter, please read this article. As a result of our (Federal and State) overly complex tax code, court cases such as this happen all over the U.S. costing individuals and businesses valuable time and money. We need tax reform.