Containing the Individual Burden of Property Taxes: A Case Study of Circuit Breaker Expansion in Maine1

While the median burden of property taxes in Maine is about four percent of income, the distribution across households is highly skewed. Households with the highest burden of property taxes are eligible for partial refunds through a "circuit breaker" program, which was expanded in 2005. Our aim in this study is to understand better the burden of property taxes on Maine resident homeowners-both before and after their circuit breaker refunds. We estimate that the percentage of resident homeowners with a net property tax burden over six percent of their income would decrease from 33 percent of households (with no refunds) to 11 percent of households if all eligible households applied. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]