AUGUSTA, Maine — Republican gubernatorial candidate Jonathan Bush rolled out his tax plan Wednesday morning at a press conference in Augusta, drawing a sharp contrast with Gov. Janet Mills and the Democratic field he says is pushing Maine even deeper into a high-tax, anti-growth hole.
Bush framed his proposal as a direct rebuke of what he described as the tax-and-spend direction of Democratic leadership in Maine.
“Janet Mills is so addicted to raising taxes, she just raised another one in the last week, and she couldn’t be more wrong,” Bush said. “We already have among the least competitive tax rates in the country. I’m going to do the complete opposite: achieve lasting property and income tax relief for Mainers. Our tax burden is out of control, and it’ll take an outsider CEO to reverse this curse.”
Bush’s plan focuses on cutting both income taxes and property taxes.
He said he would immediately cut $1 billion in income taxes, which he said would deliver an average tax cut of roughly $2,000 for a Maine family.
On property taxes, Bush said relief starts with changing the business climate in Maine. He argued that under Mills’ governorship, Maine is losing businesses to other states, driving away economic growth and making it harder to ease the burden on homeowners. Bush said rebuilding the economy and attracting more businesses would mean more commercial taxpayers helping carry the local tax load, providing real property tax relief for Maine homeowners.
Bush also pointed to his own record in Belfast, saying he brought more than 900 jobs to the city. He said his company, athenahealth Inc, contributed roughly $320,000 annually in local property taxes, helping to ease Belfast’s property tax burden.
Bush’s rollout also came with a broader indictment of Maine’s current economic and tax climate.
According to the campaign, Maine has the fifth-highest tax burden in America, citing an analysis from WalletHub using data from the Tax Policy Center. The campaign also said Maine has the fifth-worst economic outlook based on an analysis from ALEC.
Bush’s campaign further argued that the Democratic field is offering more of the same. According to the campaign, all of the leading Democratic candidates for governor, Shah, Pingree, Bellows, and Jackson, have endorsed new taxes, signaling that Maine voters could face even more of the policies that Bush says have already made the state less competitive.
The campaign also said that following new taxes signed into law by Mills, Maine will now have the highest personal income tax rate in New England and the seventh highest in the country. Bush’s team argued that Maine’s top rate will now be more than 60 percent higher than the top rates in the 10 fastest-growing states in the nation, leaving Maine badly out of step with states focused on growth.
Bush pointed to North Carolina, Utah, and Indiana as examples of states that, he said, have shown it is possible to cut tax rates, grow the economy, and sustain essential state programs and services.
With Wednesday’s announcement, Bush is making clear that taxes will be a central issue in his campaign, and that he intends to make the 2026 governor’s race a referendum on whether Maine continues down the Democrats’ high-tax path or changes course.
