See video below.
Gov. LePage showed up unexpectedly at a budget forum hosted by a Falmouth Democrat, state Senator Cathy Breen.
Asked a question about apologizing to King, LePage said:
I never said Stephen King did not pay income taxes. What I said was, Stephen King’s not in Maine right now. That’s what I said.
However, in fact LePage’s radio address — which his administration yanked after it was issued — was about people moving away because of Maine’s income taxes and mentioned King as having moved away.
Stephen King’s legal residence is in Maine. He donates to federal candidates from a Maine address. He votes in Maine.
Is King is Florida this week? Well, maybe, but so was I not long ago (and the kayaking and baseball spring training were very nice) and I’m a Maine resident and taxpayer.
Where King is “right now” is beside the point. LePage clearly implied that King didn’t pay income taxes and when his spokesperson explained why he yanked the old radio address, he made reference to income taxes.
“We had to take Stephen King at his word,” said LePage Communications Director Peter Steele. “He said he pays income taxes in Maine so we corrected the radio address.” [source]
Everyone makes mistakes. Despite King calling for an apology, none was forthcoming. Still, Steele acknowledged the error, however grudgingly.
It’s pure denial for LePage to say he wasn’t claiming that Stephen King didn’t pay income tax in Maine. Why else would his spokesperson say what he did?