By Dave Sherwood
AUGUSTA, Maine (Reuters) - Maine's Republican Governor Paul LePage, a famously combative Tea Party favorite who recently won a second term, vowed on Wednesday to eliminate the state income tax and to "right-size" government to heat up the state's chilly business climate.
"We're going after the income tax," LePage said to the cheers of a packed auditorium as he delivered a wide-ranging inaugural address in the state capital of Augusta.
"We can argue about how to get there," he said, "but states with fastest growth have lower taxes and lower energy costs."
LePage, who early on gained favor from national Republicans for his refusal to accept federal money to expand Medicaid under Obamacare, said he would look to other states for guidance in creating a "smaller, smarter government."
"We don't have to reinvent the wheel. We can follow examples and make Maine very prosperous and very competitive," he said, citing job growth and efficiencies in Florida, Louisiana and Texas.
The governor also took aim at all levels of Maine's government, calling for combined services at the state, county and local level, and for the slashing of state revenue that must be shared with what he called increasingly bloated municipal budgets.
"Where is the money going? It's unacceptable at the state level, and it should be at the local level," he said.
The 66-year-old LePage boasted of his accomplishments, from passing the largest tax cut in Maine history to slashing unemployment by nearly 3 percentage points and paying off hundreds of millions of dollars in debt owed to state hospitals.
But Maine faces stiff economic headwinds, with some of the United States' highest energy prices, its oldest population and anemic job growth forecasts.
LePage, who in November handily defeated Democratic challenger Mike Michaud, a five-term U.S. Representative, must also contend with a divided state legislature in which Democrats control the House and Republicans the Senate.
The product of a broken home and the eldest of 18 siblings, LePage thanked friends and family in his native French but gave few hints of his earlier combative leadership style that has often inflamed opponents.
"We want Mainers to know prosperity, not poverty. We are making some progress in reforming welfare, but I can't do it alone," he said.