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Press Release

NAMA and Pine Tree Vending Association Defeat Maine Vending Sales Tax Increase

AUGUSTA, ME — June 21, 2019 — Thanks to the re-establishment of the Maine State lobby day and quick mobilization, NAMA and the Pine Tree Vending Association (PTVA) were successful in defeating a proposed increase in the state sales tax in Maine.

The measure, LD 1798: An Act to Amend Maine Tax Laws, contained a provision that would force operators to pay sales tax on their gross sales, rather than the wholesale cost of their products, increasing tax liability on operators and small businesses.

“We appreciate the Maine legislature for listening to our concerns about this proposal, and how it would have been a tax increase for vending operators in Maine,” said Mike Goscinski, NAMA Director of Federal Affairs and State Affairs.

The proposed changes were part of a larger bill to broadly amend the Maine tax code. Legislators moved quickly to pass the bill out of committee, giving very limited notice to the industry to weigh in. NAMA and PTVA quickly mobilized, reaching out to legislators on the negative impact of this tax increase on operators.

“NAMA would especially like to thank Niki and Ted Morton, of Casco Bay Vending and the Pine Tree Vending Association, and the many Blind Vendors in Maine who helped educate legislators on the harm this would have caused to the convenience services industry in the state,” added Goscinski.

NAMA represents the $34.9 billion U.S. Convenience Services Industry. By providing advocacy, education, and research, NAMA works to promote and protect the industry’s over 160,000 hardworking employees. Through traditional vending and micro markets, office coffee and pantry services, product manufacturing, and small-drop distribution, convenience services meets the needs of over 40 million American consumers daily at work, home, school, and play.

SANDRA RENDEROS
Manager, Communications & Marketing
[email protected]