Regarding the “sweet and sour” tax plan story in the Sun Journal March 14 – Rep. John Pioti’s latest brainstorm of cutting income taxes by 2 percent and cost shifting by increasing the meals and lodging taxes by 1.5 percent is a bad idea. Also included in his bill is the removal of tax exemptions for certain entertainment venues, such as ski passes and movie tickets, as well as others.

Although I applaud his efforts to decrease the personal income tax, shifting the tax to meals and lodging will actually buy the public less at their favorite restaurant.

Perhaps Pioti and his ilk don’t understand the complexities of business and the causal effect that an increase in taxes has on a discretionary-income industry.

Shame on Augusta for treating Maine’s tourism industry as being only a source of extra revenue dollars under the guise that will not affect Mainers. Expecting potential out-of-state vacationers to pay extra is a poorly contrived rationale when force-feeding tax increases to Mainers, especially when a large share of the increase will be borne by Mainers.

Pioti and other elected officials must realize that tourism is a discretionary-income business and, therefore, first to feel the ripples of a down economy. Let’s not further exacerbate an already sluggish industry with an unwarranted money grab from Augusta.

Government greed and the exorbitant cost of doing business in Maine has already compromised many other industries. Let’s not send tourism to the same fate.

Paul Landry, Wales