Councilor who opposed sharing tax returns has liens from IRS for 3 years of back taxes
Steven Boucher owes $88,000 in federal taxes; State also has lien for small amount
BAR HARBOR, June 26, 2025 - The IRS and the Maine Revenue Service each has placed liens on a house the IRS says is the residence of newly elected Town Council member Steve R. Boucher for his failure to pay back taxes, according to records at the Hancock County Registry of Deeds.
The IRS lien is for failure to pay taxes in 2019, 2021, and 2022, totaling $88,052.82 and recorded on Aug. 30, 2024. The state lien for $2,975.20 in back taxes was extended on March 18, 2024. It has a Northeast Harbor Post Office box as an address for Boucher. On June 28, 2023, the town also placed a lien on 7 Iris Ledge Road LLC for $3,358.25 in unpaid taxes, fees and interest. That lien was discharged on Aug. 18, 2023.
At the June 17 council meeting, which was Boucher’s first since being elected on June 10, he spoke out against requiring tax returns as a way to prove residency.
Boucher said the proposed language seemed to be looking for more than just proof of residency. “It also feels like we're looking for compliance at the same time,” Boucher said.
Council chair Val Peacock added, “For me, if we're looking at a tax return for residents, you're looking at a different thing than whether someone has paid their taxes, or how much taxes they are paying.
“And I understand we're going to see that, or there's a possibility,” she said.
Boucher responded, “There's a possibility. I know that we're not going to sit there and comb through everything. But again, as I said before, access is access.”
At no time during the conversation did Boucher disclose his own situation - at least three years of back taxes owed to the IRS and the State of Maine obligation.
You may view the remarks on Town Hall Streams starting at Hour 2:18:25.
The disclosure of the liens came as an anonymous tip from as a reader who wrote a letter to the QSJ and criticized the town for not having better oversight of council candidates:
The QSJ verified the records independently. The county registrar of deeds said the liens were still in place this week.
The council on June 17 debated a draconian proposal from the town manager and planning director to empower the code officer to catch scofflaws abusing short-term rentals permits for owners who occupy those homes. It sent the proposal back to the town staff for revisions.
During the meeting, the council voted to bar member Earl Brechlin from participation after he disclosed he and his wife operated a “VR-1” owner-occupied unit.
The irony was that Brechlin was the most vocal councilor to call for strict enforcement of the residency rule, saying there were many using “skullduggery” to end run the town.
No one asked Boucher, nor did he volunteer, whether his real state business had potential conflicts from its rental business and its sale of houses with investment potential as vacation rentals.
Most small towns in Maine do not allow members of town boards to question another members’ potential conflict. They leave it up to the member to self declare such conflicts.
Boucher did not respond to an email seeking comment for this article.
Wow, I thought I was bad with money
I’m a bit surprised his campgain backers didn’t take care of this for him. It would have been a good return on investment
But he had really nice red, white and blue signs all over town, it's unbelievable he is a tax evader and a rule twister. I would think with all the high dollar real estate he sells that 88k would be a drop in the bucket.