After listening to speeches at Maine State House, protesters walk across Sewall Street on Tuesday and march toward the Muskie Federal Building in Augusta. There was a brief rally in front of the Sewall Street entrance of the federal building, where Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King have offices. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

AUGUSTA — About 100 people gathered outside the Maine State House on Tuesday to protest Trump administration cuts to government services and call for tax reform at the state and federal level.

“The objective today was to call attention to the fact the Trump administration is prioritizing the interest of donors and corporate elites over those of us who believe our communities and the investments we make are vital to our shared success as a nation and as a state,” said Garrett Martin, president and CEO of the Maine Center for Economic Policy.

The center leads Mainers For Tax Fairness, a coalition of nonprofits and advocacy groups that supports reform to Maine’s tax code and hosted Tuesday’s rally.

The rally came on Tax Day, and as the Trump administration and congressional Republicans have talked about extending the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which reduced the corporate tax rate and income taxes for the wealthy.

After hearing speeches at Maine State House, rallygoers walk across Capital Street on Tuesday as they march to the Muskie Federal Building in Augusta. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

At the same time, the administration has been working to reduce government spending through cuts to programs and services. Republicans have also proposed cuts to Medicaid and funding for school meals.

Some at Tuesday’s rally held signs that read, “Trump Guts Our Healthcare” and “Tax the Rich.”

A series of speakers organized by Mainers for Tax Fairness condemned recent Trump administration cuts that have impacted Maine, including a Trump executive order to slash the Institute of Museum and Library Services, staffing cuts at the Department of Veterans Affairs, and funding cuts for programs that supply food to schools and food banks.

“Right now, funding is being cut for some of the most crucial programs we rely on to keep our families healthy and strong,” said Sarah McDarby, a mother and patient advocate from Woolwich. “We want our children and our low-income community members fed. We want our veterans housed and employed. We love our schools, our libraries, our parks and our forests.”

Sarah McDarby, a mother and patient advocate from Woolwich, addresses the crowd during a tax day rally Tuesday at the Maine State House in Augusta. “Right now, funding is being cut for some of the most crucial programs we rely on to keep our families healthy and strong,” McDarby said. “We want our children and our low-income community members fed. We want our veterans housed and employed. We love our schools, our libraries, our parks and our forests.” Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

Speakers called for support of bills in Maine that would fund programs that have been affected by Trump cuts and that would tax the wealthy as a means of generating more state revenue to support such programs.

Those bills include LD 143, which would increase state funding for reproductive health care such as birth control, cancer screenings and gynecological care; and LD 1089, which would add a 4% surcharge on any taxable income in excess of $1 million a year and use that additional revenue to maintain the state’s commitment to provide 55% of public school funding.

Katrina Ray-Saulis, a union representative at the Maine Service Employees Association, told the crowd that the association worked with employees at the Maine State Library who were laid off last week after the Trump administration indefinitely suspended funds from the Institute of Museum and Library Services. The library said it laid off 13 employees — about one-third of its staff.

Oxfam’s inflatable “tax the ultra-rich” yacht was on display during the rally. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

“Let’s face it, these funding cuts are not about government waste,” Ray-Saulis said. “If they were, they would be done strategically and carefully. These funding cuts are ruining lives and tearing apart the public services that are the best of what America has to offer — public education, the arts, science, research and libraries.

“We protest because we want our taxpayer dollars spent to bolster things like library services,” Ray-Saulis added.