Maine law exempts tribal employee pay from tax starting in 2027

Maine law excludes eligible employee pay and taxable job benefits from state taxable income. It covers tribal members employed by the Passamaquoddy Tribe, Penobscot Nation, Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians, or Mi'kmaq Nation. It also covers estates receiving this compensation for people who were tribal members when they died. The exclusion covers amounts included in federal adjusted gross income that would otherwise face Maine income tax. Members qualify wherever they live. The exemption applies to tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2027.

Maine law exempts qualifying new manufactured-home purchases from sales tax. The exemption covers purchases by tribal members and by construction contractors or subcontractors. A tribal member's home must be intended for installation on tribal land immediately upon receipt or delivery. A contractor's purchase must be intended to become a permanent part of property on tribal land for sale to a tribal member or one of the four Wabanaki nations. Unless another exemption applies, buyers owe use tax, a tax on using a purchase, based on its original price if use outside tribal land exceeds half the measured period. That period runs from first use until one year later or until the purchase is sold, scrapped, destroyed, or permanently removed from use, whichever comes first. These provisions apply to sales occurring on or after January 1, 2027.

The state tax bureau must identify qualifying business land for tribal-entity sales-tax exemptions and transfers of sales-tax revenue to tribal funds. Each of the four Wabanaki nations may request a business site in Aroostook, Hancock, Franklin, Penobscot, Piscataquis, Somerset, Oxford, or Washington County. Each nation may request one parcel or two adjoining parcels jointly used for a business. The land must be owned outright by the nation or by a tribal entity owned by that nation, its members, or both. The nation or tribal entity must operate a business there. The bureau must identify land meeting the requirements through rules. Revenue transfers require both the seller's business location and the buyer's receipt of the purchase to meet the respective nation's land-location rules. Transfers exclude the required local-government share. Unless another exemption applies, tribal entities owe use tax based on the original price if use outside tribal land exceeds half the measured period. That period runs from first use until one year later or until the purchase is sold, scrapped, destroyed, or permanently removed from use, whichever comes first. Requests are due by August 1 for treatment starting January 1 of the following year. Nations must notify the bureau if land stops qualifying or they choose another site.

Maine law exempts qualifying tribal property from property tax and sets aside money for tax administration. The property must belong to a federally recognized tribe in Maine and lie within 50 miles of that tribe's tribal land. The property must be used for government or public purposes. An application must be pending for the federal government to hold the property in trust for the tribe under one of the three named federal tribal settlement laws. The law sets aside $88,460 from the General Fund for 2026–27 for one-time administrative work, including municipal valuation reporting and computer changes. The exemption applies to property-tax years beginning on or after April 1, 2027.

The Mi'kmaq Nation's elected legislative representative receives the same salary and expense allowances as state lawmakers. These provisions cover the person elected to represent the Mi'kmaq Nation in the Maine Legislature. The Mi'kmaq Nation's tribal clerk must certify the representative's name and residence, under the Nation's seal, by the day before the Legislature meets. Regular-session pay includes cost-of-living adjustments, constituent-service allowances, and travel expenses for legislative sessions or authorized committee meetings. Special sessions carry the same daily pay and allowances as other lawmakers. The law sets aside $184,034 from the General Fund for 2026–27: $103,987 for ongoing legislative costs and $80,047 for one-time costs. Certification begins with the 133rd Legislature. The pay provision begins with its first regular session.