No Tax Paid
PRESS RELEASE:
No proof that claimed “private” beaches generate tax revenue
(Biddeford, Maine) After a public invitation in early October, no waterfront property owner along the coast of Maine has produced a property tax bill showing they pay taxes on sand, rocks or seaweed over which sea water routinely flows.
Controversies raged this summer about who can and cannot use Maine’s beaches, during which it was revealed that no beachfront owner at “private” Moody Beach in Wells pays taxes on intertidal land down to the low water mark. The advocacy group “Our Maine Beaches” then issued a press release urging beachfront owners along other sections of the coast to produce tax bills to prove they pay taxes on intertidal land. It invited anyone who pays property taxes on such land to send copies of their tax bill to OurMaineBeaches@yahoo.com. The group publicized the opportunity with the media, on its website and on its Facebook page.
Three months have elapsed without a response proving that somebody on the coast of Maine pays property tax on wet sand. Apparently, this land generates no property tax revenue for Maine’s towns and cities, a fact not changed by anybody’s claim to own a private beach. Portland attorney David Silk represents a client at Moody Beach who is fighting in court to ban the public from Maine beaches down to the low water mark. However, Silk has admitted that property lines cannot be established on any beach.
‘You can’t close the line,” told the Seacoast Online newspapers in September. “You can’t put pins in a low-water mark.’
About Our Maine Beaches
Our Maine Beaches is an informal collaboration of residents throughout the state that supports any and all efforts to restore reasonable uses of coastal beaches and intertidal lands to the people of Maine. Its Facebook page has 1,200 followers and its website (www.OurBeaches.me) has attracted more than 20,000 unique visitors since the site was established in April of 2021. The site exists solely on the strength of voluntary contributions from professional vendors and citizen content providers.
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