It’s not clear what impact the Maine Chamber of Commerce’s alternative to the proposed 1 percent tax cap will have this November. But we applaud the effort.

While the plan is a solid compendium of several good ideas that have been percolating in Augusta for some time, it’s a difficult sale for people so fed up with high property taxes that they are willing to throw the state into financial turmoil.

The chamber’s plan would limit the growth in government spending at all levels to the growth rate of real personal income, capping the amount at 2.75 percent. The plan commits localities to reduce property tax rates on a dollar-for-dollar basis when they receive additional state education funding. And it would also provide immediate tax relief to homeowners who pay more than 6 percent of their income in property taxes, making them eligible for a rebate of up to $3,000.

All are reasonable ideas that get to the real issue of property taxes: rising home values and government spending.

Tax-cappers would choke the government of the funds that pay for important municipal services. A new study by the University of Maine says the tax cap would have cost municipalities more than $687 million if it had been in place last year. The chamber’s plan is much less draconian.

Will any of this matter on Election Day? Probably not. The chamber’s plan is a good place to start fixing Maine’s property tax problem, but it lacks the political punch necessary to convince those voters who have given up on the legislative process. It’s complicated, and supporters already say the plan is just a smoke screen to derail the referendum.

The chamber’s goal today is to defeat the tax cap on Nov. 2. That’s true. On Nov. 3, the job changes to building a workable coalition in the Legislature that can craft a real tax reform plan – one that acknowledges government’s important work but also slows spending.