![What’s Maine’s Craziest Tax?](http://townsquare.media/site/529/files/2017/10/QUESTION.jpg?w=630&h=420&zc=1&s=0&a=t&q=89&w=980&q=75)
What’s Maine’s Craziest Tax?
It's been said that there are two things in life that are certain. Death and taxes. Maine has a lot of taxes, but this tax takes the cake. Or shall we say, pie?
What really blows people out of the water, is that the state of Maine has a really low population. About 1.3 million, to be exact and that according to the U.S. Census Bureau, but has a big tax burden on its people.
Believe it or not, Maine has the fourth largest tax burden in the entire United States.
Which causes one to wonder, what kind of taxes is the state of Maine taking from the residents and businesses who live here?
We found one tax that seems to be ridiculous, but in some ways makes sense.
Enter the blueberry tax.
The state of Maine is one of the sole providers of blueberries to the rest of the country. Which could be translated into a tax. Yes, we have a blueberry tax!
A tax is charged for anything related to blueberries.
If you're growing, handling, selling, trucking, or buying blueberries, you can expect to be paying taxes on them.
Seems a little ridiculous, huh?
Well, maybe not so much.
According to David Yarborough, a professor of horticulture at the University of Maine, the 1.5 cents per pound you pay for blueberries is administered by The Wild Blueberry Commission and goes to the research and promotion of wild blueberries. It also supports the Wild Blueberry Association of America.
Maybe that's why blueberries are so expensive these days.
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