Each year, about half of the estimated 200,000 eligible households in Maine apply for a property tax or rent refund from the state. Given the average refund was $479 last year, consistently low participation in the Maine Resident Property Tax and Rent Refund Program is a curiosity, officials said, especially in a tough economy.Overall participation last year was nearly 10 percent lower than it was three years before the recession hit, from 120,654 applications in 2005 to 109,034 applications in 2011, according to Maine Revenue Services.
Experts believe people don't apply for the voluntary tax relief program for a variety of reasons. Some don't know it exists or assume they don't qualify. Others find the application form too complicated or they don't want to deal with Maine Revenue Services any more than they must. Or, like Michael Ackerson, a 27-year-old software developer who rents an apartment in Fairfield and works in Portland, they're just too busy.
"My accountant suggested I look into the program, but I've been right out straight at work lately," Ackerson said recently. "I'll definitely take advantage of it, though, now that I know more about it."
State and local tax officials say they do what they can to inform people about the income-based refund program and help them apply, but they say most so-called circuit-breaker tax programs have low participation rates. A study by the American Association of Retired Persons found a 40 percent participation rate among similar voluntary tax-relief programs, which have been adopted by about two-thirds of the states and the District of Columbia, according to the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.
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