If you want an easy way to pay off all those expensive student loans, Maine has an offer for you. But there’s a catch, you have to move to The Pine Tree State.
The program is called the Educational Opportunity Tax Credit and it was originally developed in 2008 to give Maine college graduates the ability to use their loan payments as tax credits to help fill jobs, CNN reported.
Now employers are using the program as a lure to get employees to move north.
The way the program works is that any money you spend paying down student loans is taken off your state income tax.
The example CNN used was say you pay $1,800 in student loans, but owe $2,000 in taxes. You subtract the $1,800 from the $2,000 and you only owe $200 to the Maine tax man.
There could be even more money in the game for those in science, technology, engineering or math fields. If they pay more out in student loans than they owe for taxes, then the state cuts STEM field workers a check, CNN reported. For those in non-STEM majors, they are under a non-refundable tax credit program, so they just get their taxes credited until they reach zero balance. There is no refund if the loan payments outweigh the tax bill.
Maine isn't the only state trying to recruit workers to move. Vermont recently passed a law to help people relocate to Vermont and work from home.
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