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An Act To Exempt from Sales Tax the Fee Associated with the Paint Stewardship Program
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  38 MRSA §2144, sub-§4, ¶C  is enacted to read:
 
C.  A paint stewardship assessment imposed pursuant to this subsection is exempt from the sales and use tax imposed pursuant to Title 36, Part 3.
 
SUMMARY
Under current law, a fee is imposed on each container of paint of 5 gallons or less sold in this State. The fee is imposed on retailers and distributors but then added to the retail cost of paint sold by that retailer or distributor. The fee is used to fund a paint stewardship program, which provides for the collection, recycling and disposal of old paint.
This bill exempts from the sales and use tax the fee imposed to fund the paint stewardship program, regardless of whether the fee is paid by a retailer or distributor or passed on to the consumer.