Stephen King is looking for an apology from Maine Gov. Paul LaPage, who said during his weekly radio address that the beloved horror writer is avoiding paying Maine taxes.
The weekly radio address was released on Wednesday and quickly withdrawn on Thursday. But in that time, portions of it were picked up online. The Portland Press Herald reports that the King reference was made while LaPage was discussing a controversial plan to lower the state income tax to draw in more wealthy residents. He claimed that King and philanthropist Roxanne Quimby were among the well-known people who had already moved to Florida to avoid paying Maine’s income tax.
After the address aired, King posted a statement on the Facebook page of his Bangor radio station, insisting that he and his wife pay “every cent of our Maine state income taxes, and are glad to do it.”
“Governor LePage is full of the stuff that makes the grass grow green,” the statement, posted on Thursday. reads. “Tabby and I pay every cent of our Maine state income taxes, and are glad to do it. We feel, as Governor LePage apparently does not, that much is owed from those to whom much has been given. We see our taxes as a way of paying back the state that has given us so much. State taxes pay for state services. There's just no way aRound it. Governor LePage needs to remember there ain't no free lunch.”
On Twitter, King was even more direct. On Sunday, he said that he still had not heard from LePage.
Governor Paul LePage implied that I don't pay my taxes. I do. Every cent. I think he needs to man up and apologize.
— Stephen King (@StephenKing) March 20, 2015
No apology from Governor LePage. Some guys are a lot better at dishing it out than taking it back.
— Stephen King (@StephenKing) March 22, 2015
King is one of the wealthiest and most prolific authors working today. He was born in Portland, Maine and has two homes in Maine. He reportedly lives in Florida during the winter, notes CNN.
image courtesy of Roger Wong/INFphoto.com
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