AUGUSTA, Maine – Maine Democrats moved late Tuesday night to add a new “millionaire’s tax” to their supplemental budget proposal, prompting immediate backlash from Republicans who say the measure is just the latest example of rushed, partisan lawmaking in Augusta. The amendment came from the Democratic majority on the Legislature’s Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee as lawmakers assembled the broader spending package for possible action on Wednesday, April 1.
The proposal would impose an additional 2 percent income tax surcharge on wealthy Mainers, applying to the portion of a resident’s taxable income beyond $1 million for single filers, $1.5 million for heads of household, and $1.5 million for people filing jointly. The idea was originally introduced in a separate bill, LD 1089, before being folded into the budget process. Supporters have said the tax could generate roughly $64 million to $75 million annually for K-12 education.
Republicans blasted both the policy and the process.
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“Hey folks, this is Trey Stewart, the Republican leader in the Maine State Senate, just wanted to give you a little update on what catastrophe is brewing here in Augusta,” Stewart said in a message posted after the late-night committee action on Social Media.
Stewart accused Democrats of moving “under the cloak of darkness” to push forward new taxes on high earners and businesses, while refusing to confront what Republicans have repeatedly described as fraud, waste, and misplaced spending in state government.
“Now the Democrats last night quite literally under the cloak of darkness decided to move forward attacks on anybody, including businesses by the way with revenues over $1 million here in the state of Maine,” Stewart said.
He argued the proposal reflects the same tax-and-spend mindset seen in other blue states, warning that Maine is moving toward the same kind of economic policy that has driven frustration elsewhere.
“This is the same sort of craziness that you’re seeing in places like Washington that are literally causing people to flee those states in droves,” Stewart said.
The late-night tax push has already fueled criticism that Augusta Democrats are again using the budget process to advance major fiscal changes with limited public scrutiny. For opponents, the issue is not just the tax increase itself, but the broader pattern of using late-hour negotiations to push controversial policy through the Legislature.
Stewart also tied the tax hike to what Republicans say is a larger failure by the Democratic majority to rein in waste, fraud, and questionable spending.
“At the same time they’re raiding the rainy day fund, they’re spending millions of dollars of your tax money on a variety of programs that just don’t make any sense at all that we know are fraud, with fraud and have been pushing and pushing against here for the last few months that we’ve been in session since these reports have come out,” Stewart said.
He said lawmakers are moving ahead without meaningful accountability measures, even as concerns continue to mount over how taxpayer dollars are being spent.
“There’s no accountability. There’s nothing there that’s gonna make sure that your money is actually needed,” Stewart said. “Instead they’re gonna attack you even more. They’re gonna not do anything to address the rampant fraud across Maine, and apparently they’re gonna do so on an entirely party line basis.”
The new Maine proposal is also likely to revive comparisons to Massachusetts, where voters approved a 4 percent surtax on taxable income above $1 million beginning in tax year 2023. For tax year 2025, Massachusetts says that surtax threshold rose to $1,083,150.
Supporters of the Massachusetts policy point to the revenue. The state reported that fiscal year 2025 revenue collections totaled about $43.7 billion, up roughly $2.9 billion from the prior year, with surtax receipts contributing to that increase.
But critics say that is only part of the story. New IRS migration data released in March 2026 show Massachusetts posted a net outflow of nearly 30,000 people and about $4.2 billion in adjusted gross income in the 2022-2023 period, figures that have sharpened concerns that high earners and investment are leaving for lower-tax states.
At the same time, the broader population picture in Massachusetts is more complicated than a simple collapse narrative. U.S. Census estimates show the state’s population rose from 7,136,171 on July 1, 2024, to 7,154,084 on July 1, 2025.
Even so, opponents of Maine’s proposal argue the Massachusetts experience still offers a warning. They contend that millionaire-tax policies can create volatility, encourage wealth migration, and make states less competitive over time, even when they produce short-term revenue gains. In their view, Maine Democrats are now reaching for the same playbook.
