GIVEN the passage of several tax increases in Oklahoma and calls for larger tax increases next year, it's worth noting how other states have fared when they pursue the higher-tax strategy. Maine provides the latest example.

Last year, voters in Maine approved a ballot measure that increased by 3 percentage points the income tax rate for those earning more than $200,000. This set Maine's top income tax rate at 10.15 percent, second-highest in the country.

The tax increase, promoted by teachers unions, was a classic “soak the rich” proposal. The 41 percent rate increase was expected to impact only around 7,000 filers in Maine, and was expected to generate $157 million per year, which would be earmarked for schools.

Yet last month, Maine Revenue Services reported that income tax collections for the year were largely unchanged, despite the dramatic rate increase. An associate commissioner for Maine Revenue Services told Portland's ABC television affiliate that the collections were “concerning” because “we would have thought with the surtax we would have received more in estimated payment, yet we didn't.”