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 to meet more than their basic needs while paying higher income taxes, yet some fear that increasing taxes on those taxpayers with the highest incomes will cause them to leave Rhode Island, taking their money and their businesses with them. However, a wealth of data and research demonstrate clearly that Rhode Islanders and people, in general, do not pick up and move so easily and that if they do move, tax rates generally play only a marginal role in making that decision

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