Raising Revenue from High-Income Households in Rhode Island

March 07, 2012 In recent years following the Great Recession, states have responded to the collapse in tax revenue by turning to tax increases on high-income households. The substantial revenue collected as a result can help sustain vital public services, including education, public safety, and infrastructure. Such proposals are being considered in Rhode Island, where a significant number of lawmakers …

The Basic Health Program: Providing Affordable Coverage for Rhode Islanders

A key goal of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) is to allow more Americans to have health coverage by providing affordable health insurance. Under the new law, Rhode Islanders will be covered through several ways: Affordable Employer Sponsored Coverage Medicaid: People with incomes that are at or below 138% of the federal poverty level (including adults without …

Who is the Affordable Care Act Helping in Rhode Island?

Health care reform legislation, called the Affordable Care Act (ACA), was passed by Congress in 2010. The ACA is designed to ensure that nearly all Americans have health insurance through commercial or public coverage, control health care costs, and improve the health care delivery system. Many Rhode Islanders and Americans are already benefiting from parts of the law that have …

Summary of 2012 Legislation Impacting the Workforce Development System

Workforce Development System Biennial Program and Funding Plan. The Rhode Island Workforce Alliance promoted this important policy that requires the Governor’s Workforce Board (GWB) to submit to the governor and general assembly a biennial employment and training plan beginning March 15th of 2012 and every other year thereafter. The Plan must include a funding plan necessary to achieve system priorities …

Resuscitating Revenues

June 06, 2011 Rhode Island needs a balanced approach to addressing the state’s budget shortfall by including proposals that would raise revenue and not just cut spending.  Three of the largest sources of state revenue – personal income, sales, and business taxes – could be modified to improve the sustainability and adequacy of our state’s tax structure. Read Resuscitating Revenues (PDF)

Governor Chafee’s Corporate Tax Reform

April 11, 2011 Governor Chafee’s proposal to shut down corporate loopholes and eliminate unnecessary tax credit programs for only a handful of companies is a step in the right direction towards leveling the playing field between large and small businesses and improving the state’s long-term fiscal health. Tax Facts Corporate Tax Reform 2011 (PDF, 390KB)

Jobs – Not Taxes – Stimulates Migration (a PERI publication)

April 01, 2011 Written by the Political Economy Research Institute Rhode Island shouldn’t worry that higher taxes will drive people away, but how it spends its tax revenue appears to affect the likelihood that people will move here. Employment opportunities, a low incidence of crime, and affordable housing go hand in hand with greater inward migration, according to a study by the …

Rhode Island’s Hidden Spending: Tax Expenditures

Tax expenditures result in very large revenue losses to the state.  Over the years, Rhode Island has given up billions of dollars in potential tax revenue through tax expenditures. Every other year, tax expenditures result in very large revenue losses to Rhode Island…tax expenditures cost the state at least $1.67 billion in lost revenue in 2008. Rhode Island Department of …

A 21st Century Sales Tax: Why Governor Chafee’s plan to modernize the sales tax is necessary

March 11, 2011 Rhode Island must modernize its antiquated sales tax in order to maintain investments in public services that improve our quality of life, protect our families and businesses, and help grow our economy. Today, we have one of the most narrow sales tax bases in the country, and our collections from this important source of revenue are well …