Cannabis Legalization in RI: A Racist History Demands Equitable Reform

Three proposals to legalize cannabis for adult recreational use in Rhode Island were presented during the 2021 legislative session: Senate Bill 568, House Bill 6370, and Article 11 of Governor McKee’s proposed FY2022 budget. The proposals are estimated to yield around $17M annually. Rhode Island legalized cannabis for medical use in 2006 and decriminalized possession of small amounts of cannabis …

Rhode Islanders Don’t Move Because of Tax Policy

In order to grow thriving families and communities and a prosperous economy, Rhode Island depends upon tax revenues to provide for critical public goods and services. Rhode Island’s personal income tax system is moderately progressive, meaning that individuals and families with the lowest incomes pay a lower percentage than those with higher incomes. Those with the highest incomes can afford …

COVID-19: Protecting Rhode Islanders and the State’s Economy

The COVID-19 pandemic is both a public health crisis and an economic crisis. When put together these become a moral crisis. Many people have been asked to make temporary economic sacrifices in order to protect public health and save lives. When we ask people to make such sacrifices, we, as a state, have a moral obligation to help them. And …

Are Economic Development Tax Incentives Reports Facilitating Transparency and Accountability?

Like most states, Rhode Island offers numerous tax incentives seeking to generate economic activity and create jobs. These Economic Development Incentives aim to leverage state revenues to encourage new business startups, facilitate the expansion of existing businesses, and attract new businesses to the state. The incentives take many forms, including those of tax credits, tax exemptions, tax deductions, and preferential …

Why Repealing/Cutting the Estate Tax Will Hurt Rhode Island

Rhode Island’s estate tax provides revenues for programs and services critical to a strong economic foundation for the Ocean State. In 2014, the General Assembly increased the estate tax exemption to $1.5 million (an amount which has increased, due to inflation adjustments, to $1,561,719). In the four years since this change, Rhode Island has foregone $103.2 million in revenues through …

Who Pays?, 6th editon

A new study recently released by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) and The Economic Progress Institute finds that the lowest-income Rhode Islanders pay 53 percent more in taxes as a percent of their income compared to the state’s wealthiest residents. The study, Who Pays? A Distributional Analysis of the Tax Systems in All 50 States, analyzes tax …

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act Overview

In December, Congress passed, and the President signed into law, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (“the Act”) which includes changes to both the federal personal income tax and the federal corporate income tax. The Act results in very large tax cuts for higher-income earners, foreign investors, and corporations. The resulting loss of an almost $1.5 trillion in federal revenue …

Trump Tax Plan Would Mostly Benefit Wealthiest Rhode Island Taxpayers

PROVIDENCE, RI— A new analysis from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy reveals a federal tax reform plan based on President Trump’s April outline would fail to deliver on its promise of largely helping middle-class taxpayers, showering 61.4 percent of the total tax cut on the richest 1 percent nationwide. In Rhode Island, the top 1 percent of the …

Understanding Rhode Island’s Motor Vehicle Tax

Summary of Rhode Island’s Car Tax The Motor Vehicle Tax (commonly known as the “Car Tax”) is a property tax collected by each Rhode Island municipality based on the value of each motor vehicle owned. There are three components that determine how much each individual car is taxed: valuation, tax rate and exemption. The valuation of the motor vehicle is …

Improving a Common Sense Tax Credit for Working Rhode Islanders: Increase the Rhode Island Earned Income Tax Credit

Improving a Common Sense Tax Credit for Working Rhode Islanders: Increase the Rhode Island Earned Income Tax Credit All Rhode Islanders want to be able to support their families and live in thriving communities. Yet, far too many working Rhode Islanders are struggling to pay for housing, heat, food, and health care.  Increasing Rhode Island’s refundable Earned Income Tax Credit …