Maine
Maine may spare some scam victims from paying taxes on losses
Maine is poised to stop collecting income tax on money stolen from victims of certain types of scams under legislation that moved forward Thursday with strong bipartisan support.
LD 714 would align state law with federal income tax changes adopted last year by the Internal Revenue Service, which now allows some victims to claim a theft deduction.
The Legislature’s taxation committee voted 12-0 to send the bill to the House and Senate with an “ought to pass” recommendation. If it becomes law, it would apply to scams that began after Jan. 1, 2023.
To qualify for a theft deduction, the IRS stipulates that the loss must result from criminal conduct classified as theft under state law; the taxpayer must have no reasonable expectation of recovering the stolen funds; and the loss must arise from the theft of funds while invested.
The deduction doesn’t apply to losses from romance scams, false kidnappings and other frauds where victims transfer funds to scammers for non-investment purposes, Steven Langlin, a legislative analyst, told the taxation committee.
Committee member Rep. Gary Friedmann, D-Bar Harbor, noted that older Mainers are especially vulnerable as residents of the oldest state, with a median age of 44.8, according to the U.S. Census.
“I’m moved that we do all we can to protect our seniors,” Friedmann said.
Rep. Thomas Lavigne, R-Berwick, also a committee member, described a recent online scam he experienced. “It was terrible and it can happen to anybody,” he said.
The legislation was drafted after the Portland Press Herald reported on a China couple who lost $1.3 million in a government impersonation scam.
From October 2023 to April 2024, Larry and Barbara Cook drained their retirement accounts and transferred the money as bitcoin and gold bullion to scammers posing as Federal Trade Commission investigators. The scammers convinced the couple that it was the only way to protect their savings, which became taxable income once they cashed out their retirement accounts.
“Unlike the IRS, the current Maine tax law does not allow deduction for fraud from gross income,” Larry Cook, 82, said in written testimony to the tax committee. “The fraud and its ongoing consequences have impacted us financially, emotionally and even physically.”
Committee member Rep. Kristina Smith, R-Palermo, represents the Cooks and submitted a copy of the Press Herald article with her written testimony.
“This bill protects the most vulnerable among us — seniors with substantial but finite savings, people with limited technological familiarity, and anyone who falls prey to highly organized criminal schemes,” Smith said.
Scams are on the rise. The number of complaints about government impersonation scams in particular increased 50% in recent years, from 11,554 incidents worth $240.6 million in 2022 to 17,367 incidents worth $405.6 million in 2024, according to the latest FBI data.
Among people age 60 and up, scams involving cryptocurrency more than tripled in the same period, from 9,991 incidents worth $1 billion to 33,369 incidents worth $2.8 billion.
Maine
How a tragedy changed the timeline — and the politics — of Maine’s Senate race – The Boston Globe
And while this is the role that many Democratic leaders would be expected to play in this situation, this crop of candidates has an added challenge.
Because this also means there are no meaningful distinctions among the candidates to help guide the eventual 601 delegates who will decide who should run in one of the most closely watched Senate contests in the country.
Indeed, the practical political impact of the tragic situation in Biddeford on the Maine Senate contest is this: What was expected to be an intense two-week primary campaign has effectively been reduced to one week. And the week currently being overtaken by the shock and anger is likely the most crucial.
That’s because 5 p.m. Wednesday is the deadline for supporters to sign up to become delegate candidates for the July 25 statewide convention in Bangor.
Those delegate candidates will then be elected at caucuses held in each of the state’s 16 counties over this coming weekend. From that process will come the 601 delegates who will decide which Democrat will challenge five-term Republican incumbent Susan Collins this fall.
In fact, the best organized campaigns will likely know by Sunday who has already won the contest because they can simply add up how many of their own supporters became delegates.
In other words, the contest could be effectively over before most Mainers even begin to really pay attention.
Further, unlike some major news developments that provide a moment of political clarity, this tragic situation in Biddeford resolves nothing. Instead, it raises the stakes for Democrats to make the right choice.
What that means in the context of choosing between a more progressive populist candidate in the mold of Platner or a more traditional Democrat in the mold of this year’s Democratic nominee for governor, Hannah Pingree, remains an open question.
There is simply less time now to discuss it.
Now, none of the above is meant to take away from the discussion about a husband and father who was killed by the government and whatever circumstances led to that tragedy.
To be sure, the moment a Democratic nominee is selected, the role of ICE will immediately become the first real dividing-line issue in the Senate race. After all, Collins oversees ICE’s budget as chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee and has been actively involved in conversations with the administration about enforcement in Maine.
But as to who should face her, the clarity and contrasts that campaigns tend to reveal are not currently there among Democrats at a time when they would be most helpful. As it stands, all of the candidates oppose the Trump administration’s overall agenda, oppose the Iran war, promote some version of an affordability message, and, above all, oppose Collins.
Nor is there an obvious choice if Maine Democratic delegates decide electability should be their highest priority.
Campaigns rarely unfold on the timetable candidates expect. Outside events intervene, reshaping what voters hear, what campaigns can talk about, and, ultimately, what party insiders have to evaluate.
In this case, Democrats face the unusual challenge of selecting a Senate nominee while the issue dominating the public conversation is one on which nearly all of the candidates already agree. That may produce unity after a bruising week, but it also leaves delegates with fewer opportunities to distinguish between the people asking for their votes before making one of the biggest political decisions in Maine this year.
James Pindell is a Globe political reporter who reports and analyzes American politics, especially in New England.
Maine Senate hopeful, Democrat David Costello, speaks with a potential voter as he gathers signatures, required to be considered at the party’s convention, in downtown Brunswick, Maine on July 12.
Tamara Keith/NPR
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BRUNSWICK, Maine – On a sunny Sunday, Senate hopeful David Costello worked the sidewalk in downtown Brunswick asking for signatures.
“Woud you happen to be a registered Democrat?” he asked one woman before engaging in a back and forth conversation. She asks if he’s progressive.
“Very progressive,” Costello said.
Costello is one of several Maine Democrats who see the fall of Graham Platner’s senate campaign as an opportunity to represent Maine in Washington.
Platner won June’s Democratic primary election handily. But allegations of rape by a former romantic partner last week forced him to drop out of the race. It leaves Maine Democrats scrambling to find a new nominee before the July 27 deadline to put a name on the ballot. Platner denies the allegations.
The Maine Democratic Party will hold a convention on July 25 where 601 delegates will choose that nominee. That candidate will need to capitalize on the enthusiasm Platner generated to defeat Republican Sen. Susan Collins.
An unstoppable incumbent or a top pick-up opportunity?
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, leans down to listen to a young paradegoer at the annual Moxie Day Parade is Lisbon, Maine on July 11.
Susan Sharon/Maine Public
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Collins remained quiet at the end of Platner’s campaign but at the annual Moxie Day parade Saturday in Lisbon, Maine, she walked with volunteers in red shirts.
“People appreciate the fact that I provide steady leadership — and the word steady does come up a lot,” Collins said at the parade, “and that I continue to work really hard for Maine.”
Collins has represented Maine in the Senate since 1997. She has managed to stay in her seat even as Maine has voted for Democrats for president statewide, including in 2020 when the state voted for Joe Biden. Collins last won reelection that year with a comfortable margin — more than 8.5%.
At the annual Moxie Day Parade in Lisbon, Maine, supporters of Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, march with signs and giant letters spelling S-U-S-A-N, on July 11.
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Susan Sharon/Maine Public
Democrats see Maine as pivotal to their chances to retake the Senate. Platner’s departure from the race puts pressure on the party to choose a replacement candidate who can win over Platner’s loyal voters and appeal to independents who are key to Collins’ electoral success. Maine state Senate President Mattie Daughtry, a Democrat, is encouraged to see many of the candidates running on Platner’s progressive platform of transformational change. But she’s worried about voters being turned off by the process.
“I do have that deep seated concern of how many folks are going to say ‘oh well, this man failed me. Why trust someone ever again?’” Daughtry said.
Daughtry did not endorse Platner and she quickly called on him to drop out of the race after the rape allegations surfaced. Still, she thinks his message resonated.
“I ran for office when I was 25 because I was really really angry. I was working 4 jobs. I couldn’t afford an apartment and I had no healthcare. And unfortunately that story has not changed and it is a lived reality for millions of us across this country,” Daughtry said.
“And we need to find who can pick up that mantle. Who understands what that life is like and really tap into that raw energy,” she added.
Supporters weigh what’s next
Just one month ago, Alan Crichton was playing saxophone at Graham Platner’s primary night victory party. At a brewery in Belfast, Maine this weekend, he noted his ambivalence.
“I have so many mixed feelings. I like the guy. I like his message a great deal and I think he galvanized people who are just kind of sick of what’s happening,” Crichton said.
Now, though, Crichton calls the situation “a big old mess.” As a Democrat, he hoped the charismatic populist Platner would be the one to finally knock out Collins. Though, at this point, he’ll vote for whoever the Maine Democratic party selects.
“I hope it’s somebody who can kind of carry the torch that Graham kind of lit and held out there very strongly. He was a very inspiring guy,” he said.
Joseph Berube of Northport, Maine, gave up on politics in 1972 after Democrat George McGovern lost the race for president in a landslide. This year, though, he got excited about Graham Platner’s candidacy for U.S. Senate.
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Joseph Berube is an independent voter who lives in Northport, Maine. After decades disengaged from politics, Graham Platner sparked something in him he could hardly believe.
“Because I am so apolitical,” Berube said, “I want nothing to do with it. [But] I was actually considering giving money to his campaign.”
Charlotte Agell is on the opposite end of the engagement spectrum. A registered Democrat, she is very politically involved and has been for decades. She met Platner early on in his campaign.
“One of our neighbors said, ‘hey would you like to come to my backyard and meet Graham Platner?’ I had sort of heard of him,” she remembered. “When I went to that back yard event, I just by happenstance walked in with him. It was me and Graham Platner walking in.”
By the time that event ended, she had signed up to volunteer for his campaign.
“I felt a kinship with everything that was coming out of his mouth basically. Very smart. Good at identifying the problem,” Agell said.
Core to Platner’s economic populist message was that the system has been failing regular people while the rich and powerful get more rich and more powerful. He had faced controversies throughout his campaign. He easily won the nomination anyway. But then came the rape allegation. Berube believes the rush to judgment was too swift.
“I agree with women’s rights and women shouldn’t be abused,” he said. “But to have one person come up and stand up and say, ‘he abused me,’ and then that’s it? It’s just not really fair to him.””I just think they didn’t want him,” Berube added.
Berube says Democrats chopped the legs out from under someone who had brought people back into politics.
“He was bringing in people like me and that’s what’s going to do this. And you know what, we’re in the middle of a war to save this country,” Berube said. “And we have the other side that’s fighting with the gloves off and we’re putting the gloves on. We’re in trouble.”
Charlotte Agell has been processing it all a little differently. Agell admits to being a chronic optimist but says this was never about one man.
“You know, we’re not a cult. We’re just a movement that wants to take back this country for the middle and the working class,” she said.
Agell wants to believe this massive disruption won’t sap the momentum for change she felt.
“It’s really been like a rocket ship. We’ve all been on it. And that’s why, when these very serious things have been alleged and rightly he has dropped out of the race, we’re kinda still flying at 90 million miles an hour and saying ‘who can take the controls’ and we’re going to figure that out,” Agell said.
State Senator Chip Curry says the state party is doing the best it can with a tight timeline.
“It’s a winnable race and we’ve got some great people. We’ve got to get there,” Curry said.
There are more than half a dozen announced candidates. And for Democrats the stakes couldn’t be higher. No clear frontrunner has emerged from the candidates who have put themselves forward to be considered. It’s also not clear if one candidate can capitalize on the momentum that Platner was building in Maine. Still, some are remaining optimistic.
“People are going to grumble. I’ve grumbled a little bit. But I think we’ll get through this,” Senate hopeful David Costello predicted. “I think whoever the nominee is will have tremendous support.”
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