A tax incentive in Maine is being used to funnel money from tax dollars directly into corporate pockets.
"At the end of the day, the paper machines changed hands on paper; the lenders that loaned the $31.8 million got their money back; Enhanced and the other broker, Stonehenge Community Development of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, pocketed $2 million in fees; and the equity investors – the people or funds that put up the $8.2 million that was not repaid as one-day loans – were promised $16 million in Maine tax credits, which are redeemable over seven years. In other words, Maine's taxpayers provided the equity investors, who faced little risk, with a $7.8 million profit. And despite the fact that the mill closed and went bankrupt, there's no way for the state to wriggle out of its commitment to pay the investors the $16 million."