Senator Haskell, Representative Goode and members of the Joint Standing Committee on Taxation, my name is Rich Cantz and I am the Vice President of Strategic Development and Public Policy for Goodwill Industries of Northern New England. I am here today to testify in opposition of LD562 and LD936 which I believe unintentionally undermine the essential partnerships established between nonprofits and the municipalities.
Our business model reflects our commitment to sustainable communities. We collect, sort, categorize and sell donated goods – creating jobs at each stage in the process and generating revenues for services that enhance people’s ability to work. We do this all while extending the useful life of goods that would otherwise go to waste and occupy landfills.
Goodwill Industries of Northern New England has over 60 locations around the state, some owned and some rented, including retail stores, residential and day programs. We carefully review community needs to deliver services that benefit citizens locally. Goodwill, along with many other nonprofits impacted by LD562 and LD936, provides a safety net of services for Maine citizens that state and local governments do not have the capacity to offer.
We are partners with municipalities.
We would not be able to fulfill our mission without the support of municipalities and we work hard to be good partners. For more than 5 years we have donated space and utilities, worth approximately $4,500 per year, to the City of Portland for the Midtown Community Policing Center located within our headquarters. Last year alone, our NeuroRehabilitation Services in downtown Portland provided over $25,000 in pro bono care to survivors of brain injury. Also last year, we provided over $43,000 of store vouchers through our Good Neighbor program to our partners in the Portland area. These vouchers can be used at our stores for clothes and other goods. Through our network of retail stores, Goodwill generated $1.1 million last year in sales tax revenue for the State of Maine.
Like many nonprofits, we are dedicated to the communities where we are located. In these challenging economic times, we find ways to continually provide a high level of service for Maine citizens when government capabilities are reduced. However, this makes our exempt status even more essential. The number and quality of services that we, and other nonprofits, will be able to deliver would be reduced if we must redirect funds for imposed fees.
It may be surprising to know that many nonprofits rent the space where they deliver services, and therefore already pay property taxes through their rent. Indeed, in 2001, the State of Maine’s Municipal Valuation Return Statistical Summary found that less than 3% of properties in Maine are tax-exempt due to its owner’s nonprofit status. With this relatively small pool available for revenue generation, we ask the committee to consider if the funds raised by this bill are significant enough to outweigh the potential harm to the safety net of services nonprofits provide for Maine citizens.
Goodwill understands the challenges of balancing a budget. We also appreciate the hard work this Committee does in choosing how to increase revenue. We are concerned however that the unintended long term consequences of LD562 and LD936 would permanently alter the balanced partnership between nonprofits and municipalities. These bills will limit the ability of nonprofits to serve our communities and shift that responsibility to municipalities, creating a new fiscal concern instead of solving one.