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 …

Highlights of the Governor’s Proposed FY2021 Budget

The Governor’s proposed FY2021 budget (“the budget”) totals $10.2 billion, an increase of $224M over the enacted FY2020 budget. This includes $4.2 billion in general revenue ($170M more than 2020) and $3.3 billion in federal funds ($2.2M less than 2020), with the balance from restricted receipts ($349M, $38M more than 2020) and other sources such as lottery revenue ($2.3 billion, …

Highlights of the 2019 General Assembly Session: 2020 Enacted Budget and Legislation

Overview The 2020 budget (“the budget”) for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2019 totals $9.971 billion: General Revenues  $4,077,594,991 40.9% Federal Funds  $3,325,364,065 33.4% Other Funds  $2,256,279,162 22.6% Restricted Receipts  $311,382,120 3.1% Total  $9,970,620,338 100% General Revenues include personal income taxes, corporate income taxes, sales taxes, and use fees. Federal Funds include, among other things, matching funds for Medicaid …

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 …

Highlights of the Governor’s Proposed FY2020 Budget

The Governor’s proposed FY2020 budget (“the budget”) totals $9.9 billion, an increase of $358 million (M) over the enacted FY2019 budget. This includes $4.1 billion in general revenue ($167M more than 2019), $3.3 billion in federal funds ($110M more than 2019) with the balance from restricted receipts ($30M) and other sources such as lottery revenue ($2.3 billion). We have highlighted …

Highlights of the 2018 General Assembly Session: 2019 Enacted Budget and Legislation

The 2019 budget (“the budget”) for the fiscal year beginning July 1 totals $9.6 billion, including $3.2 billion in federal funds, $3.9 billion in general revenue, $282 million in restricted receipts and $2.2 billion in “other” funds (including the Unemployment Insurance Fund and tuition and fees from CCRI, URI and RIC). (Figure 1) The enacted budget is $195 million higher …

Highlights of the Governor’s Proposed FY 2019 Budget

The Governor’s proposed FY2019 budget (“the budget”) totals $9.2 billion, an increase of $5.2 million over the enacted FY2018 budget. This includes $3.8 billion in general revenue (increased by $25.0 million from enacted FY2018) and $3.1 billion in federal funds (a decrease of $52.3 million from enacted FY2018) with the balance from restricted receipts and other sources. The following provides …

Highlights of the FY2018 Budget

OVERVIEW The 2018 budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2017 was signed into law by the Governor on August 3, after the Senate and House came to agreement on the budget and a bill to monitor the impact of the phase out of the Motor Vehicle Tax. From July 1 through August 3, the state operated under 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 …