Nate Barr is the owner of Zootility, a U.S. manufacturer of tools and outdoor gear based in Maine.

In my 12 years running Zootility Co., first in Portland and now in Westbrook, I’ve watched the cost of doing business in Maine rise on every side at once: materials, shipping, rent, health insurance and wages. But some of the most consequential costs never appear directly on an invoice. They show up when an employee cannot find affordable childcare, when housing costs push a good worker farther from the job or when someone leaves because their paycheck can no longer cover the basics.

Those pressures affect businesses, too. Turnover means more spending on recruiting and training and lost productivity while new employees get up to speed. And hiring replacements is no simple answer: We cannot attract and retain good people unless their wages can support a life here.

That is why I support Maine’s new millionaire tax. It asks a small number of the state’s highest earners to contribute a little more toward the conditions that allow workers, families and businesses to thrive.

Starting this year, income above $1 million for individuals — or $1.5 million for married couples filing jointly — will be taxed an additional 2%. The tax applies only to income above the threshold, not to someone’s entire income. A person earning $1.1 million, for example, would pay the additional 2% on $100,000, for a total of $2,000.

This distinction matters, especially for business owners. The tax is based on taxable income, not a company’s total sales. A business might generate substantial revenue while spending most of it on payroll, materials, equipment, rent and other operating expenses. Only the excess profits over $1 million could possibly qualify for the tax.

Most Maine small-business owners do not come close to taking home $1 million in taxable profit in a year. For businesses organized as LLCs, S corporations or partnerships, the tax does not apply at the entity level. Owners could be affected only if their personal taxable income exceeded the threshold. I run a successful manufacturing business, and I am nowhere near that number. Almost no business owner I know is.

The tax is expected to affect about 2,600 filers statewide — roughly four-tenths of 1% of Maine taxpayers. It is projected to generate around $75 million per year.

That revenue can help support services that directly influence whether Maine businesses can hire and retain employees: childcare assistance, tuition-free community college, better pay for care workers, help for families facing eviction and support for schools.

These investments are sometimes described as separate from the concerns of business. In my experience, they are inseparable. When childcare costs more than a job pays, people cannot take that job. When workers cannot find housing they can afford, employers lose candidates or face constant turnover. When education and training are out of reach, businesses struggle to find people with the skills they need.

Underinvestment does not make these costs disappear. It simply shifts them onto workers, families and employers in less visible — and often less efficient — ways. Businesses absorb them through recruiting expenses, lost productivity, higher turnover and growing pressure on wages. Helping people meet basic needs gives them a better chance to remain in their jobs and communities, while giving employers the stable workforce they need to grow.

Seventy percent of Mainers supported the millionaire tax when it was polled, and I understand why. It is targeted, modest and asks those with the greatest ability to contribute to make a slightly larger investment in the state where they live and do business. And research on similar policies has not shown the mass exodus critics often predict.

For small businesses, this is not an abstract debate about taxes. It is about whether employees can afford to build stable lives in Maine — and whether companies can build stable workforces in return. That is not charity. It is an investment in a healthier economy, and it is good business.