An Act To Tax Political Action Committees
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 36 MRSA c. 723 is enacted to read:
CHAPTER 723
POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEES
§ 4951. Tax on political action committees
1. Imposition of tax. A tax is imposed on a political action committee as defined in Title 21-A, section 1052, subsection 5, equal to 5% of the amount contributed to the political action committee.
2. Reporting; payment. A political action committee that receives contributions, as defined in Title 21-A, section 1052, subsection 3, shall file with the State Tax Assessor an initial report at the time of the committee's registration and reports at the same times as campaign finance reports are required to be filed with the Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices under Title 21-A, section 1059. A report must indicate the total amount of contributions received by the political action committee since the previous report and include payment of the tax imposed under subsection 1.
3. Coordination. The State Tax Assessor shall coordinate with the Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices to permit political action committees to pay the tax required under this section in conjunction with reports required under Title 21-A, section 1059.
SUMMARY
This bill imposes a tax on political action committees equal to 5% of the amount contributed to the committees. The tax must be reported and may be paid by political action committees at the same time as campaign reports under the election laws.