MEXICO – State Rep. Randy Hotham will host a property tax relief session on the state’s expanded “circuit-breaker” program at the Mexico Town Hall on Monday.

All residents of his district, which includes Canton, Carthage, Dixfield, Mexico and Peru, are welcome to attend, according to his office.

Hotham said the informational meeting will begin at 7 p.m. and last about 90 minutes. Hotham, a Republican from Dixfield, will be joined by state Rep. Patrick Flood, R-Winthrop, who serves on the Joint Select Committee on Property Tax Reform.

“We want everyone to understand the new eligibility standards and how tax refunds are calculated,” said Hotham. “This is not the same thing as the homestead exemption – it is additional relief for folks with high property tax bills. We want to make sure everyone who qualifies has the opportunity apply.”

He said about 50 percent of Maine households will quality for relief. Maine Revenue Services has already received more than 16,000 applications for the Maine Residents Property Tax and Rent Refund program, the official name for the circuit-breaker program.

It is part of L.D. 1, which was enacted last January. Under the new guidelines, the program will provide rebates up to $2,000 to homeowners and renters who quality.

For more information, Hotham’s constituents may contact him at home, at 562-8265.



Single homeowners whose 2004 income was $74,500 or less, or married homeowners with dependents whose combined 2004 income was $99,500 or less, are eligible for rebates if their 2004 property taxes exceeded 4 percent of their income. The new rules also presume that 20 percent of rent payments comprise a renter’s property tax bill.