AUGUSTA – The Maine Legislature approved this afternoon a tax reform bill that would cut the state’s 8.5 percent income tax to 6.5 percent.
The measure now heads to the governor’s desk, though it’s unclear if Gov. John Baldacci intends to sign it or not. The votes in both the House and Senate fell nearly entirely along party lines.

The tax package pays for the income tax cut by extending the state’s 5 percent sales tax to previously untaxed goods and services, such as ski lift tickets, golf course fees and auto repairs. It also raises the state meals and lodging tax from 7 percent to 8.5 percent.