"TAX RELIEF IS REAL

Your commentator Lance Tapley brought an Alfred E. Neumann "What, me worry?" attitude to the very serious problem of Maine taxes in his column of January 14 (see "Breaking the Frame").

Tapley smugly assumes that our high taxes are not a problem, because wealthy, out-of-state, second homeowners pay some share, and large paper companies contribute some, too. Apparently it doesn’t bother him that those out-of-staters are buying Maine properties year-round citizens can no longer afford, in part because of their tax burden.

And probably he doesn’t care that the paper companies are no longer making substantial investments here, and several have shut down altogether, costing Maine thousands of jobs. Not a word of concern, either, for the high costs and inefficiency of our current government structure.

The bottom line reality is that Maine tax payers, collectively, are shelling out the second highest burden compared to ability to pay of all the states. They are entitled to expect that state, county, and local governments spend that money frugally and efficiently.

There is no room for Tapley’s complacency if we care about the hardship of high taxes on the vast majority of Maine people and our ability to create new jobs that pay a living wage in Maine.

David Flanagan,

Co-Founder, Coalition for Reasonable Tax Relief for Maine

Manchester

WALKING THE WOODS

We appreciated your story on the sensitive topic of Sunday hunting (see "Sunday, Orange Sunday?," Jan. 21, by Alex Irvine). We own 800 acres in western Maine, where hunting has always been allowed. We have a horse farm, make hay during the summer, log during the winter and run a small sawmill (when it’s not 20 below). We also are Small Woodlot Owners Association of Maine members. It’s important that Sundays remain free of hunting. We have advised our legislators that implementation of Sunday hunting could well result in not the addition of another day of hunting but the loss of the first six that seem to be taken for granted.

Additionally, we work with the snowmobile club and a major trail crosses our land. ATVs, however, are prohibited. Horses and ATVs are mutually exclusive endeavors.

Bill and India Haynes

Waterford