Taxes as a share of income, 2015

 The lowest income Rhode Islanders pay nearly twice as much in state and local taxes as a share of household income compared to the wealthiest taxpayers.

Who Pays?, a study released by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, analyzes the fairness of state and local tax structures.  It finds that like most states, Rhode Island’s tax system is regressive; it takes a greater share from low and middle-income families than wealthy households.

Non-elderly households in Rhode Island with incomes of less than $19,000 pay, on average, taxes equal to 12.5 percent of their income. At the same time, families with incomes above $410,000 (the wealthiest one percent of the taxpayers) contribute 6.3 percent of their income to state and local taxes.