Maine Governor Backs Millionaire Tax

The Maine race is a must-win for Democrats, who need a net gain of four seats in November's midterm elections to claim a Senate majority. Collins, 73, is widely considered one of the most vulnerable Republican Senators.

Maine lawmakers have proposed a 2% surtax that would kick in at $1 million for single filers and $1.5 million for married couples and other filers. That would put the state's top tax rate at 9.15%, among the nation's highest.

In a March 10 interview, Mills called for reversing tax cuts for the rich included in last year's One Big Beautiful Bill and said she supported higher federal taxes for top earners. But she argued a Maine increase would backfire because it would simply push the wealthy to move to other states, noting that it's less likely people will move abroad to avoid a federal increase.

Mills now says the proposed levy is necessary to protect investments in health care and education and will help fund property-tax cuts she's seeking.

"It is crucial that we maintain these important investments for Maine people into the future, especially as we face such economic uncertainty because of actions of the Trump administration," Mills said in a statement early Thursday.

Latest State

With her support, Maine is poised to become the latest state to raise taxes on those earning at least $1 million, following the lead of places like Massachusetts and Washington. Rhode Island is considering a similar measure to help safeguard spending against federal cuts.

Unlike some of the other states pushing a millionaire's tax, Maine has been attracting residents from other parts of the U.S. — including wealthier residents.

The state saw a net gain in newcomers making $200,000 or more in 2023, bringing in a net of $252 million in adjusted gross income, according to Internal Revenue Service data published last month. More than a third of that income came from those 65 and older.

Two years ago, Mills vetoed legislation that would have raised Maine's top tax rate to 8.45%. She warned then about the dangers of relying on revenue from a tiny group of taxpayers and said the measure didn't provide meaningful tax relief to lower-income residents.

Last year, she opposed a 4% millionaire's tax to fund public schools.

"We ran the numbers, and if we did that, it might generate a certain amount of money for a small period of time, then it would fade away," Mills said in the March interview explaining her 2024 veto. Many of Maine's high earners are "snowbird" retirees and "they can vote with their feet" by moving to lower-tax states like Florida and New Hampshire.

Platner is championing higher taxes on the rich, arguing the revenue raised will help fund solutions to the challenges that are crippling everyday people. That doesn't necessarily mean small business owners making $10 million to $25 million a year, he said in a March interview.

But he wants billionaires to pay a minimum baseline tax that they can't avoid with exemptions or capital gains safeguards. He's also supportive of Senator Elizabeth Warren's proposed 2% annual wealth tax on net worths of more than $50 million.

"Democrats don't like the Democratic party," Platner said. "They're angry at the fact that there is an element of it that has decided that getting support from those with a lot of money is more important than standing up for the needs of working folks in this country."

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