An Act To Provide for Fairness in Property Taxation by Assessing a One-time Tax on Financial Assets
Maine Legislature, Session 130, LD 1514
Committee: Taxation
Sponsors: LOOKNER, BERRY, GRAMLICH, SYLVESTER

Legislative Document
No. 1514
H.P. 1122
House of Representatives, April 15, 2021
An Act To Provide for Fairness in Property Taxation by Assessing a 
One-time Tax on Financial Assets
Received by the Clerk of the House on April 13, 2021.  Referred to the Committee on 
Taxation pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed pursuant to Joint Rule 401.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative LOOKNER of Portland.
Cosponsored by Representatives: BERRY of Bowdoinham, GRAMLICH of Old Orchard 
Beach, SYLVESTER of Portland.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  36 MRSA c. 727 is enacted to read:
CHAPTER 727
FINANCIAL ASSET TAX
§4950.  Definitions
As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise indicates, the following terms 
have the following meanings.
1.  Cash and cash equivalent.  "Cash and cash equivalent" means cash, including 
certificates of deposit, checking accounts, savings, accounts and money market accounts 
and other assets that are readily convertible to cash, including marketable securities, 
commercial paper and debt instruments within 6 months of maturity.
2.  Eligible taxpayer.  "Eligible taxpayer" means a person who owns financial assets 
having a fair market value of $5,000,000 or greater.
3.  Fair market value.  "Fair market value" means:
A.  For cash and cash equivalents, the account balance of cash and cash equivalents as 
of December 31, 2021; and
B.  For a financial instrument or security not readily convertible to cash, the closing 
value of the financial instrument or security on an established stock exchange on 
December 31, 2021 or the value determined by the assessor in accordance with rules 
adopted under this chapter.
4.  Financial asset.  "Financial asset" means cash and cash equivalents, financial 
instruments including annuities, bonds, treasury bills, mutual funds, stocks, publicly traded 
options, futures contracts, untraded equities, commodities contracts, certificates of interest 
in gold and other precious metals or gems and other similar investments.  "Financial asset" 
does not include any property subject to taxation under Part 2.
5.  Security.  "Security" has the same meaning as in Title 11, section 8-1102, 
subsection (1), paragraph (o).
§4951.  Amount of tax
A tax is imposed upon each eligible taxpayer equal to 0.5% of the fair market value of 
financial assets owned by the eligible taxpayer in excess of $5,000,000 in the aggregate as 
of December 31, 2021.
§4952.  Administration
1.  Authority of State Tax Assessor.  The assessor shall collect all taxes and penalties 
provided by this chapter and shall enforce the collection of taxes and penalties provided by 
this chapter.
2.  Reporting.  On or before April 15, 2022, an eligible taxpayer shall file with the 
assessor a statement of all financial assets owned by the eligible taxpayer as of December 
31, 2021.  The statement must be in the form and manner required by the assessor and it 
must be accompanied by any other supporting documentation that the assessor may require.
3.  Amount of tax determined.  The assessor shall determine the amount of tax due 
and payable upon the financial assets of an eligible taxpayer and shall certify to the eligible 
taxpayer the amount of the tax due.
4.  Collection.  An eligible taxpayer shall pay the tax due to the assessor within a 
reasonable time, as determined by the assessor, after the determination and certification of 
the tax due and payable under subsection 3.  Payment must be made in the form and manner 
required by the assessor. 
5.  Distribution of receipts.  The assessor shall transfer all receipts from the tax 
imposed under this chapter as follows:
A.  Fifty percent to the Local Government Fund established in Title 30-A, section 5681 
with 20% of this amount transferred to the Disproportionate Tax Burden Fund in 
accordance with Title 30-A, section 5681, subsection 5; and
B.  Fifty percent to the Housing Opportunities for Maine Fund established by Title 
30-A, section 4853, subsection 1.
6.  Rulemaking.  The assessor may adopt rules necessary for the administration and 
enforcement of the tax imposed by this chapter.  Rules adopted pursuant to this subsection 
are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A.
§4953.  Enforcement and penalty
If a person neglects or refuses to comply with the requirements of this chapter, the 
assessor may obtain the necessary information by any methods the assessor considers 
advisable and the necessary expense incurred in obtaining the information must be added 
to the tax assessed under this chapter and paid to the assessor with the tax.  A person who 
willfully fails to truthfully account for, report or pay the tax imposed by this chapter or 
willfully attempts in any manner to evade or defeat the tax or the payment thereof is, in 
addition to other penalties provided by law, liable for a penalty equal to the total amount 
of the tax evaded, not collected or not accounted for and paid.  For purposes of this section, 
"person" means an individual, corporation or partnership or an officer or employee of any 
corporation, including a dissolved corporation, or a member or employee of any partnership 
who, as an officer, employee or member, was, at the time of the violation, under a duty to 
perform the act with respect to which the violation occurred.
§4954.  Limitation
The tax imposed by this chapter applies only to the taxable year beginning on January 
1, 2021.
SUMMARY
This bill establishes a one-time tax on any person owning financial assets, including 
cash and cash equivalents, securities and other financial instruments, with a fair market 
value in excess of $5,000,000.  The tax is equal to 0.5% of the amount by which the fair 
market value of a person's financial assets exceeds $5,000,000.  The bill requires any person 
with financial assets in excess of $5,000,000 to file a statement with the State Tax Assessor 
and authorizes the State Tax Assessor to determine the amount of tax due, enforce the 
collection of the tax and adopt routine technical rules necessary to administer and enforce 
the tax.  The bill subjects any person who fails to pay the tax to certain penalties.  The bill 
directs the State Tax Assessor to transfer 50% of the receipts from the tax to the Local 
Government Fund and 50% of the receipts from the tax to the Housing Opportunities for 
Maine Fund.