Anchor Rising: Bills Introduced to the Rhode Island House (Taxation Focus), January 25

February 7, 2011

Bills Introduced to the Rhode Island House (Taxation Focus), January 25 - February 3)

Carroll Andrew Morse

Significant Rewrites with Statewide Impact

I think this is the repeal of the "Amazon" tax. (Comment: Even though this bill contains a relatively small amount of verbiage, I'm putting it in the "significant rewrites" section, since it's meaning needs some decrypting)

Targeted Changes with Statewide Impact

H5114	From the official description: "This act would clarify that a little cigar is not a cigarette for purposes of taxation..."
H5116	Authorizes an instant lottery game called "Scratch-a-Tick" (Comment: Stay classy, Rhode Island.)
H5117	Raises the estate tax threshold to $1.5 million from $850 thousand beginning in 2013, and then indexes it to inflation. Companion to S0058.
H5139	Removes the ability of city and town councils to exempt or stabilize "real and tangible property taxes in enterprise zones for qualified businesses"
H5153	Reduces the minimum corporate income tax from $500 to $50.
H5155	Limits state spending to the increase in the Consumer Price Index or 3%, whichever is lower.
H5157	Lowers the gas tax from 32 to 27 cents per gallon (Comment: And the bidding war with S0053 is on!)
H5158	Reduces the cigarette tax by 5 cents per cigarette (that's 50 mills, for readers who are into arcane units of measure) which must mean there are 20 cigarettes per pack, since the official description says "this act would reduce the cigarette tax by one dollar ($1.00) per pack".
H5167	Reduces the minimum corporate income tax from $500 to $250.
H5170	I think this raises the marginal tax rate on incomes over $500,000 from 4.99% to 9.99%, but I'm not sure it's written-up properly in the legislation.
H5171	I think this raises the marginal tax rate on incomes over $500,000 from 4.99% to 7.99%. It's written more clearly than the previous bill, but I'm not sure how the alternative minimum tax figures in.
H5185	Employers with 3 or fewer employees and employees "engaged in domestic service" would be exempt from workers' compensation laws. (Comment: Who's trying to get out of paying workers comp to their nanny?).
H5207	Would place an optional check-off on the Rhode Island income tax form, for donating money to the Rhode Island Agricultural Lands Preservation Commission.
H5208	Creates "a state income tax credit of ten percent (10%) of the cost of installing the cistern not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000)".
H5209	Would cap the assessed value of a farmland estate at $2.5 million, for purposes of the estate tax. Companion to S0097
H5210	Would exempt "horses used in commercial farming operations" and "feed for animals used in commercial farming" from the state sales tax.
H5234	Authorizes cities and towns to issue bonds "to pay the uninsured portion of any [non-pension related] court judgment or settlement" in an amount up to 10% of the current town budget, without voter approval (currently, the ceiling is 5%).
H5237	"Real property held by small businesses, as defined by the United States Small Business Administration, at least five (5) years prior to an exchange, shall be appraised at its use value rather than its full and fair cash value".
H5249	From the official description: "This act would require the state to pay interest on tax refunds not issued within sixty (60) days".
H5250	Extends the sales-tax exemptions applied to automobiles to pickup trucks under 10,000 lbs.