Republican gubernatorial candidate Jonathan Bush used Tax Day to make a pledge: If elected, he said, he’ll impose sweeping tax cuts in all income brackets by $1 billion.
At a press conference in Augusta on Wednesday, Bush said states with lower tax burdens, such as New Hampshire, do better at attracting and retaining businesses. By bringing businesses to Maine, he said, that could help reduce the property tax burden by adding tax income for municipalities.
“Businesses are free to choose what states they locate in, and they are voting with their feet. And we are suffocating,” he told the media outside the Maine State Capitol. “We have some of the least competitive income tax rates in the United States.”
Maine’s top marginal income tax rate for 2026 is 7.15%, according to the Maine Revenue Services. That rate is applied to income over $64,850 for single people or over $129,750 for a married couple.
Bush did not give specific numbers for income tax brackets or provide a plan for adjusting the corporate tax rate. Nor did he commit to reversing taxes on products like cigarettes, streaming services or the recently passed millionaire surtax — but said they will be included in a far-reaching audit of state government.
He highlighted his career as the former CEO of athenahealth, which he estimates paid the town of Belfast more than $350,000 a year in property taxes. Bush said his background as an entrepreneur and job creator will inform his decisions on tax policy.
“Imagine what would fall to people’s homes if all of a sudden there was no athenahealth in town,” he said. “When you go through other towns in Maine, you see empty window after empty mill after empty industrial building.”
The plan juxtaposes Bush’s Democratic rivals. Earlier this week, Allagash Democrat Troy Jackson announced a plan that would largely involve raising taxes on wealthy people and large corporations to help pay for state-run services.
Bush also addressed questions over his residency status. Last month, the Portland Press Herald reported Bush owned a home in Cape Elizabeth since 2020, but tax records show he received resident exemptions in Massachusetts until 2023.
Bush said he meets the constitutional requirement that the governor must “have been five years a resident of the state” at the time they take office.
“I thought I’d be called a carpet bagger in this race, and my answer was going to be, I’ve been carpet bagging since 1969. I’ve been a part-time resident since I opened my business operations in Belfast back in 2007 and then in my residence in Cape Elizabeth,” he said. “I still meet the five-year requirement.”
The cousin of former President George W. Bush, Jonathan Bush is one of seven Republicans running for governor in Maine.
This story appears through a media partnership with Maine Public.
