PORTLAND – A national tax activist who visited Maine Tuesday endorsed a proposed 1 percent property tax cap that will go to voters later this year.

Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, told reporters a tax cap likely would limit government spending and lessen the need for higher taxes.

Critics say the cap would drain more than $500 million from municipalities and cripple local services.

Norquist was keynote speaker at an “Emergency Tax Summit” at the Holiday Inn by the Bay hosted by Maine Heritage Policy Center, a conservative economic think tank.

Politicians will push any tax to the breaking point, Norquist said. By capping property taxes, voters should successfully send a message to lawmakers that rising taxes and the higher spending that triggers them are not acceptable.

“I think it does lead to permanent restraint on spending, or is likely to,” he said.

The state’s distinction as having the highest tax burden as a percent of income has pushed residents to the brink, he said.

“When it comes to tax and spending policies, Maine is not just a little bit out of whack,” he said. “Maine does not have superior services than other states’, just more expensive services.”

In addition to a local tax cap, Norquist said Mainers should adopt a Taxpayers Bill of Rights, or TABOR, such as Colorado voters did in 1992. That measure limits state spending to the annual rate of inflation plus population growth and requires a two-thirds vote in the Legislature to approve tax increases.

Only a constitutional amendment that restricts spending will work, Norquist said. It is not enough to enact a law that sets budgetary limits and creates a rainy day fund, such as the so-called stabilization fund proposed last year by Gov. John Baldacci and passed by the Legislature. It is too easily breached, he said.

“It’s not an escrow account; it’s a slush fund. And it will be spent when they want to spend it.”

George Christie, executive director of Maine Citizen Leadership Fund, said Norquist was a polarizing presence who showed disdain for Maine’s tradition of Democrats and Republicans working together to solve the state’s tax problems.

“He is one of the most radical anti-tax figures in this country with a direct line to the White House,” Christie said. “We will not tolerate that kind of debate.”

Christie said he and his group used satire to “make light of a very serious issue” during the conference by pulling up in a limousine dressed as millionaires in top hats, tails and fur coats while clutching cigars. Fake bills spilled from their pockets. They entered the hotel and tried to confront Norquist, but were turned away at the door to the luncheon reception.

By inviting Norquist to serve as keynote speaker, the Maine Heritage Policy Center has “declared war on bipartisanship,” Christie said.

When asked about Christie’s remarks, Norquist later answered that, at the federal level of government, bipartisanship has historically yielded spending increases. “I thought that the best moments of the last several years have been the clarifying partisan bickering.”

Christie said tax reform in Maine should include boosting revenues to help provide property tax relief to those who need it most. It also should include protections from Medicaid cuts.

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