John Muir’s letter (Oct. 23) distorts an issue in Maine of interest to certified public accountants.

Maine’s tax laws were substantially in conformance with federal statutes. Maine decoupled from federal statutes when Maine was desperate for additional revenue. Differences between federal and Maine personal exemptions and standard deductions are some of the adverse effect this has had on wage earners.

If Maine conformed to the federal, there would be an immediate tax reduction for all Maine taxpayers. Additionally, one can look at the treatment of Federal Code section 179 and first-year bonus depreciation by Maine, again when Maine was desperate for revenue. This decoupling had substantial, adverse affects on Maine businesses of all sizes: our jobs producers.

Decoupling – or nonconformance – not only resulted in increased taxes for all Mainers, but also made the preparation of tax returns more complicated and expensive. Conforming Maine to the federal will benefit all Mainers and should not be a partisan issue.

Conformance, especially as it relates to investments, is advantageous to the Maine workers who participate in retirement and public or private pension funds in Maine.

Mr. Muir neglected to address Sen. Chandler Woodcock’s proposal to increase the minimum taxable Maine income – a clear benefit to those Mainers who Sen. Woodcock characterized as those taxed too long who can least afford being taxed.

John L. Palmer, Oxford