Overview
- Platner introduced his "End Billionaire Welfare" plan in what he billed as a Tax Day rollout on Wednesday, proposing a 5–6% annual tax on assets above $1 billion.
- He pairs the wealth tax with a cost-of-living exemption from federal income tax for many working- and middle-class filers and calls for a permanent, expanded child tax credit.
- He says investment gains should be taxed like paychecks, and he targets excessive CEO pay and corporate loopholes to ensure large companies pay federal taxes.
- He proposes removing the Social Security payroll tax cap so high earners pay the tax on all income and says the wealth tax could raise more than $4 trillion for housing, transit, and safety-net programs.
- The plan doubles as a campaign marker in Maine’s June Democratic primary against Gov. Janet Mills and David Costello, with Center Square noting endorsements from Elizabeth Warren and backing from Bernie Sanders and an Emerson poll showing Platner ahead.