Taxation
It appears that many residents’ car tax bills will offer an early illustration of the consequence of the big-spending stimulus pursued by Congress and the White House: A number of cars, which normally lose value each passing year, have increased in value this year as a result of several economic forces hitting the used car…
In defense of the Tea Party — in the broad movement sense — Fred Deusch of North Providence sums up the problematic thinking of those who advocate for progressive taxation: Rhode Island has about 1 million people, but only 12,000 pay 41 percent of the state’s taxes, according to Treasurer Frank Caprio. How much does…
Monique asks a question about the state’s new “fiscal stabilization” procedures…In view of the fact that receivership involves entities that are bankrupt, i.e., that lack sufficient money to operate and/or pay their debts, did lawmakers identify the source that would fund these inexplicably inviolable contracts?Actually, in the new law, there are two-steps that precede the…
John Kostrzewa is much more positive about Rhode Island’s revamp of its income tax structure. I tend to see “revamp” in terms of a cosmetic makeover for a vampire. Kostrzewa apparently believes that’s better than nothing: … the origins of the plan to simplify the tax code and send a message outside the state that…
So, the revised income tax scheme is now law, and we’ll soon enough find out whether it’s actually beneficial or just shuffles some numbers around. I continue to be suspicious that it’s just a roundabout way of freezing the flat tax with a positive spin. I’m also concerned that it further favors those who are…
Not to kick off a beautiful Tuesday with gloom, but it seems inescapable. Environmental catastrophes, lingering war, emboldened terrorist states, and shifting demographics in the West that give those terrorist states reason for optimism about the future would each be bad enough, but the economy is what brings the world’s problems to the front doors…
I’ll tell you the honest truth: I really desire to play along and cheer the proclaimed income tax revision just passed by the General Assembly, but that “revenue neutral” thing gives the whole endeavor the feeling of a scam. Consider: An analysis of the plan by Paul L. Dion, chief of the state Office of…
So, yeah, the General Assembly has managed to keep its hands pretty clean when it comes to raising taxes, but Rhode Islanders shouldn’t expect to have more money in their pockets — at least not unless they get involved in local government right now. As we’ve seen, in Tiverton, the state bureaucracy is willing to…
In a review of some of the tax consequences of Obamacare, Grafton Willey conveys this bit of policy that one suspects underlies many of the assumptions of those who advance policies in the mold of nationalized healthcare: Imposing a 3.8 percent “unearned-income Medicare contributions” tax on higher-income taxpayers. The 3.8 percent unearned-income Medicare contributions tax…
Something just isn’t adding up with the news out of the General Assembly about this supposed “tax overhaul.” According to some details explained by Neil Downing, it looks like all taxpayers would make out pretty well under the Senate’s version, although the rich and the single appear to get the best deal, relatively speaking. Those…