Hope Of New Stimulus Check As Lawmakers Back A $850 Single Payment

Stimulus Check
Stimulus Check

There are renewed hopes of another stimulus check worth $850 that has the backing of lawmakers. This relief check without an income cap is expected to be a one-time payment and is being supported by GOP lawmakers from Maine. They hope to make the payments from the revenue surplus of around $1.2B.

Republican lawmakers have agreed on principle with the Democratic Governor of Maine, Janet Mills, who has proposed sending a stimulus check worth $850 to residents of the state. If approved, the proposed relief check could reach residents of Maine starting in June.

Governor Mills Differ With GOP Lawmakers On The Proposed Stimulus Check Beneficiaries

But Republican lawmakers have said they want all tax filers in the state to get a stimulus check. They said they want this stimulus check to be independent of earning. They differ with Governor Mills on this particular point.

Gov. Mills has proposed that only tax filers earning less than or equal to $75,000 in case of individuals, and double that for married couples filing jointly, should benefit from the one-off relief check.

She proposes to return a portion of the budget surplus enjoyed by Maine this year. The original proposal was to send $500 to Maine residents. There is also a proposal to send the stimulus check faster through electronic transfer to tax filers’ accounts directly than through the cumbersome process of paper checks.

With bi-partisan backing for the proposal, there is a chance that things could get moving soon. Maine has not relied on direct electronic transfer of funds earlier. The Administrative and Financial Services department of Maine has said that there could be logistic issues in switching to electronic transfers.

The revenue services of Maine do not have complete information for over 50% of the 800,000 tax filers who could be entitled to this state stimulus check. The DAFS has proposed that sending paper checks could be a more reliable method of distributing stimulus checks at this stage. The proposal needs to have the support of two-thirds of the Maine legislature.