Fed Up with Taxes, the group behind the proposed people's veto of the beer, wine and soda tax, has made protecting Maine businesses a key theme in its campaign this fall.

However, a review of the political action committee's finance reports show that it has spent a small proportion of its budget on campaign services from Maine businesses.

The group is backing Question 1, which would repeal the taxes created at the end of this year's legislative session to fund Dirigo, the state's health insurance program.

Fed Up with Taxes began as a coalition of Maine businesses - innkeepers, restaurateurs, convenience store owners - but most of its coffers, which have grown to $3.5 million, have been filled by Coca-Cola, Pepsi and other major beverage companies.

Television ads for the group feature Maine business owners talking about how difficult it has become to do business in the state. Those ads, along with lawn signs scattered all over the state and posters in convenience stores, were produced by out of state businesses.

The following is from a PolitickerME.com analysis of Fed Up with Taxes' campaign finance reports, looking at major expenditures not including rent, staff salaries, travel or other operating expenses.

Maine companies paid:

• $75,000 Pierce Atwood (Portland), consulting

• $10,139 Victorian Terrace luxury corporate rentals (Portland), housing for campaign workers

• $9,224 Jensen, Baird, Gardner & Henry (Portland), legal services

• $3,522 Brown Fox Printing (Scarborough), literature

• $2,312 LTS, Inc. (Portland), literature

• $1,242 Spectrum Printing (Portland), literature

• Total: $101,439

Out-of-state companies paid:

• $726,918 Goddard Claussen (Washington, D.C.), advertising services

• $528,139 GC Strategic Advocacy (California), advertising services

• $475,000 National Petition Management (Michigan), petition gathering services

• $331,945 Michael D. Meyers Company, Inc. (Washington state), voter file services

• $280,314 Clinton Group (Washington, D.C.), phone outreach and data entry

• $125,000 Public opinion strategies (Virginia), polling services

• $69,800 Lombardo Consulting Group (Washington, D.C.), direct mail services

• $34,406 Spectrum Marketing (New Hampshire), literature

• $31,675 Balloons over Rhode Island (Rhode Island), literature

• $6,367 Stember Group, LLC (Washington, D.C.), voter outreach/grassroots

• $3,000 The Jackson-Alvarez Group (Virginia), research services

• $743 Global Vision (Washington, D.C.), Web services

• Total: $2.6 million

Newell Augur, the group's chairman, said that the advertising agency it had contracted was responsible for the media buys, thus sending the money back into the state to local media outlets.

He said Fed Up with Taxes always looked to Maine vendors first - then, if they couldn't find the services in Maine they'd go elsewhere.

"The bulk of what we're spending is on Maine radio, Maine TV and Maine newspapers," Augur said. "There were a number of different printers used in the state. Wherever we had the opportunity, we used Maine talent."

Records from similar groups that are behind referendum campaigns show they have used Maine services. Fed Up with Taxes' opponent, Health Coverage for Maine, uses a Winthrop firm for campaign services.

The second ballot question this fall asks voters if they want to establish a casino in Oxford County. CasinosNO!, the group opposing the measure, used an Alexandria, Va. firm for advertising services, although the firm has Maine ties.

Dennis Bailey, who runs CasinosNO! and is a veteran of referendum campaigns, said that he's not surprised about how Fed Up with Taxes is running its campaign.

"Anheuser Busch came in and took over the show," Bailey said. "They didn't talk to Maine people."

However, it is hard to find services that have political expertise in the realm of referendum campaigns. He said the advertising agency the pro-casino group uses does not specialize in campaigns, causing them to waste a lot of money. Print ads, which they use, are not effective in referendum campaigns, Bailey said.

Bailey said he always tries to use Maine companies to film his ads and print literature. "That is pretty dumb," he said of Fed Up with Taxes using a New Hampshire group for literature.

Vote Yes on 2 for Maine, the group supporting the casino measure, used CDM Communications in Portland for its advertising services, Critical insights in Portland for polling services, Atlantic Strategies in Fairfield for consulting and Olympic Consulting in Lewiston for sign maintenance and placement.

Pat LaMarche, spokeswoman for Vote Yes on 2 for Maine, said that it was important for the casino project to use Maine businesses. Olympia Gaming, the Las Vegas group backing the project, has promised to hire Mainers to work in the casino, and it validates their promise to hire them during the campaign as well.

"They could have come in and replaced all of us with people from away," LaMarche said.

LaMarche ran for governor in 2006, and said she tried to use Maine businesses in that campaign as well.

However, quite a bit of that group's money is flowing out of state as well. They use a Houston, Texas printing company and consulting groups in Massachusetts and Florida. The campaign is funded solely by a Las Vegas group.

LaMarche said she couldn't speak specifically to the Houston company that is printing the group's signs. She said that when she ran for governor, she found the Maine printing companies would just order the big jobs from out of state, so it may have been more economically feasible to cut the middle man.