AUGUSTA (AP) — Gov. Paul LePage on Thursday released a YouTube video in which he takes credit for tax cuts passed during the last session and asks Democrats to support additional cuts in the 2013 session ahead. (Click to see video)

In a five-minute video, the Republican governor is interviewed by his communications director, Adrienne Bennett, about tax cuts passed last session and says 70,000 Maine residents with the lowest incomes will not have to pay taxes in the new year.

“This represents the largest tax cut in Maine history,” LePage said. “For Democrats to call this a tax cut for the rich is simply not true.”

He also noted that the cut was passed by two-thirds of the Legislature, which required Democratic votes.

In the latest of several YouTube videos he’s taped, LePage says giving businesses targeted tax breaks can in turn stimulate the economy by allowing them to invest that money on an expansion, new jobs or higher wages.

Senate President Justin Alfond, D-Portland, issued a statement that said the video was also distributed by the governor’s 2014 re-election committee and that it distorts Democratic lawmakers’ position on Maine tax policy.

Alfond said the tape’s release comes as LePage refuses to meet with Democratic leadership.

“We hope in the days that follow that we can sit down with the governor and engage in a thoughtful conversation about how to move Maine forward,” Alfond says.