APPROVED CHAPTER
JULY 1, 2025 486
BY GOVERNOR PUBLIC LAW
STATE OF MAINE
_____
IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD
TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-FIVE
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H.P. 1247 - L.D. 1876
An Act to Change the Name and Duties of the Taxpayer Advocate to Increase
the Use of State Tax Credits
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
PART A
Sec. A-1. 36 MRSA §151-C, as amended by PL 2011, c. 694, §5, is further amended
to read:
§151-C. Taxpayer advocate and experience officer
1. Appointment. The Commissioner of Administrative and Financial Services shall
hire the taxpayer advocate and experience officer as an employee of the bureau who is
independent of and not subject to the supervision or control of the assessor or any other
employee of the bureau. The taxpayer advocate and experience officer is an unclassified
employee and serves at the pleasure of the commissioner. The taxpayer advocate and
experience officer need not be an attorney.
2. Duties and responsibilities. The duties and responsibilities of the taxpayer
advocate and experience officer are to:
A. Assist taxpayers in resolving problems with the bureau; by:
(1) Establishing a taxpayer's best contact within the bureau to provide an
accelerated review of the taxpayer's issues;
(2) Facilitating speedy resolution within the bureau, if possible, including offer in
compromise and payment plan options; and
(3) Explaining reconsideration and appeal options, if available, under this Part;
B. Identify areas in which Assist taxpayers have problems in dealings with the bureau,
stakeholder advocacy groups, Legislators and other interested parties by describing
available tax benefit programs and assisting with simplified access to those programs;
C. Propose to the assessor and the bureau's division directors any recommended
changes in the administrative practices of the bureau to mitigate problems identified or
arising under paragraph paragraphs A and B; and
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 D. Identify legislative changes that may be appropriate to mitigate problems identified
or arising under paragraph paragraphs A and B and report recommendations in the
annual report required under subsection 3.
3. Annual report. Beginning in 2012 2026, the taxpayer advocate and experience
officer shall prepare and submit by August 1st January 15th an annual report of activities
and recommendations under subsection 2 of the taxpayer advocate and experience officer
to the Governor, commissioner, the Associate Commissioner for Tax Policy, the assessor
and the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over taxation
matters.
4. Investigation. The taxpayer advocate may investigate complaints affecting
taxpayers generally or any particular taxpayer or group of taxpayers and, when appropriate,
make recommendations to the assessor with respect to these complaints. The assessor shall
provide a formal response to all recommendations submitted to the assessor by the taxpayer
advocate within 3 months after submission to the assessor.
5. Response. The assessor shall establish procedures to provide for a formal response
to all recommendations submitted to the assessor by the taxpayer advocate.
Sec. A-2. Taxpayer advocate and experience officer. The changes to the
position title and duties of the taxpayer advocate established in the Maine Revised Statutes,
Title 36, section 151-C, as amended in this Part, do not change the position count and
funding associated with the taxpayer advocate position within the Department of
Administrative and Financial Services, Bureau of Revenue Services.
PART B
Sec. B-1. Special report of taxpayer advocate and experience officer. The
taxpayer advocate and experience officer within the Department of Administrative and
Financial Services, Bureau of Revenue Services shall:
1. Study the use of state tax credits by:
A. Determining the rate at which eligible individuals are accessing available state
tax credits;
B. Identifying and assessing current barriers that may be negatively affecting the
rate at which available state tax credits are being accessed; and
C. Developing recommendations to address any eligible individuals not accessing
available state tax credits;
2. Study the current practices of large tax preparation firms with respect to offering
state tax credits to individuals in this State by:
A. Examining the current practices of large tax preparation firms that offer services to
individuals in this State with respect to providing information to customers about state
tax credits and assisting customers in accessing those credits;
B. Examining the efficacy of the software used by large tax preparation firms to
prepare and file tax returns with respect to assisting customers in using state tax credits;
and
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 C. Developing recommendations for potential public policy or consumer protection
measures to ensure that individual taxpayers in this State are informed of and have
access to state tax credits, regardless of which tax preparer the individual taxpayer uses.
For the purposes of this subsection, "large tax preparation firm" means a business that
offers tax return preparation services to individuals and families in the State; offers tax
return preparation services at multiple franchise locations, or remotely, to customers
nationwide or in multiple other states; and has at least 50 employees;
3. Address the role of State Government in promoting public awareness of individual
state tax credits by:
A. Identifying existing interactions of State Government with individual taxpayers that
include providing information to those individuals about state tax credits;
B. Identifying interactions between State Government and individual taxpayers that do
not currently but reasonably could include providing information to those individuals
about state tax credits;
C. Identifying and evaluating any potential barriers to incorporating the provision of
state tax credit information to individual taxpayers in any interactions identified in
paragraph B;
D. Recommending strategies to expand the practice of promoting awareness of state
tax credits throughout appropriate state departments and agencies, including through
interdepartmental data sharing; and
E. Recommending improvements to the State's free electronic tax filing system, known
as the Maine Tax Portal, including recommendations to improve:
(1) Public education efforts to promote the existence and availability of the
electronic tax filing system; and
(2) Ease of use and accessibility features, including mobile access, use of plain
language and accessibility to non-English speaking individuals; and
4. Study and address current practices of municipalities related to promoting awareness
of individual state tax credits and tax relief programs by:
A. Identifying and assessing the current practices of municipalities throughout the
State, including with respect to promoting awareness of the following:
(1) The earned income credit under the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 36, section
5219-S;
(2) The property tax fairness credit under the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 36,
section 5219-KK;
(3) The dependent exemption tax credit under the Maine Revised Statutes, Title
36, section 5219-SS;
(4) The sales tax fairness credit under the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 36, section
5213-A; and
(5) A deferred collection of homestead property taxes under the Maine Revised
Statutes, Title 36, chapter 908; and
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 B. Evaluate and address any barriers preventing a municipality from expanding the
municipality's efforts to promote individual taxpayer awareness of state tax credits.
Sec. B-2. Report. By November 4, 2026, the taxpayer advocate and experience
officer within the Department of Administrative and Financial Services, Bureau of
Revenue Services shall submit to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having
jurisdiction over taxation matters a report consisting of the taxpayer advocate and
experience officer's findings and recommendations, including any suggested legislation.
The joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over taxation matters
may report out legislation related to the report to the 133rd Legislature in 2027.
PART C
Sec. C-1. Funding for free volunteer tax assistance. On or before June 30, 2027,
the State Controller shall transfer $50,000 from the unappropriated surplus of the General
Fund to the All Other line category in the University of Maine System, New Ventures
Maine program, Other Special Revenue Funds account to support a coalition of
approximately 50 organizations providing free volunteer tax assistance and other financial
education services to low-income individuals and families statewide.
Sec. C-2. Report. No later than December 1, 2027, the Chancellor of the University
of Maine System, in maintaining the so-called New Ventures Maine program pursuant to
the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 20-A, section 10922, shall submit a report to the joint
standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over taxation matters that
includes a description of how the coalition receiving the funds transferred pursuant to
section 1 of this Part is using those funds, how many individuals and families the coalition
has served and how many individuals the coalition assisted in filing their taxes with those
funds.
Sec. C-3. Appropriations and allocations. The following appropriations and
allocations are made.
UNIVERSITY OF MAINE SYSTEM, BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE
New Ventures Maine Z169
Initiative: Allocates one-time funds to support a coalition of approximately 50
organizations providing free volunteer tax assistance and other financial education services
to low-income individuals and families statewide.
OTHER SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS 2025-26 2026-27
All Other $0 $50,000
__________ __________
OTHER SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS TOTAL $0 $50,000
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Statutes affected:
Bill Text ACTPUB , Chapter 486: 36.151