Yea, Governor King, for vetoing a bill which would have taxed some Social Security benefits.

We first heard what the Legislature was considering through our long-time friend and champion of common sense, Mary Adams of Garland, who now has her own web site, www.adamsreport.com, which keeps Maine folks abreast of what's happening in Augusta and elsewhere. This surprise bill, LD 1268, proposed taxing Social Security incomes (over $34,000 single filer, $44,000 joint) here in Maine for the first time ever. It had already passed the House when we first heard about it, and, lo and behold, also passed the Senate. The bill then went to Governor King's desk, and he was non-committal last week, saying only that he was still thinking about it. He did admit, however, receiving several thousand calls on the subject, many probably at the prompting of Mary Adams, who suggested the calls.

Last Friday, Governor King vetoed the measure, which hopefully will kill it for this year, unless the Legislature can muster a two-thirds vote to override the veto. That's not likely, since many of the legislators who originally voted for it are unlikely to do so again, following the onslaught of criticism from angry voters.

``An Act To Provide Equal Treatment in the Taxation of Public Pensions'' was intended to tax some Social Security benefits and use the funds to provide a tax break for retired government workers whose pensions are taxed. We understand their frustration that they are forced to pay taxes on their pension while Social Security recipients are not, but the way to settle the matter isn't to place a tax burden on another group of retirees.

At a time when Maine is supposedly making such a big push to attract retirees, taxing their Social Security income would not be smart at all. Maine is already getting a terrible reputation when it comes to taxes. After all the years we affectionately called Massachusetts ``Taxachusetts,'' we've got little room to talk nowadays.

To entice retirees to choose Maine, we're going to have to tax less, not more. We need to take a page out of Florida's book. Many of our part-time residents choose to register their vehicles in Florida to save money, and buy homes in the Sunshine State to take advantage of the tax breaks they get for long-term home ownership.

Maine is an ideal retirement state with a lot going for it, and it makes sense to try to attract retirees, who place no burden on our school system. Many of them can afford to own their own homes, having sold their permanent residences elsewhere to relocate. However, they're not going to throw their money away by moving to a state where a disproportionate share of their retirement income goes to taxes.

Governor King made the right move with his veto, and, judging from the outcry, politicians will probably twice next session before pushing through similar legislation.

- Mary Brewer