Taxation

The Rhode Island Auditor General’s List of Municipal Pensions at Risk

By Carroll Andrew Morse | July 10, 2007 |

I know it’s not the most exciting topic, but the Rhode Island Auditor General’s just-released report on municipal pensions most at risk may help explain some of the tax bills and the consequences of certain decisions made in various communities around the state. Category 1: Plans significantly underfunded with annual contributions significantly less than annual…

Re: RI Has 7th Highest Taxes in U.S.

By Carroll Andrew Morse | July 10, 2007 |

Here are a few more details from the Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council’s annual 50-state tax-revenue comparison. Rhode Island is a top-10 state in terms of income and sales taxes collected whether you measure per-capita or as a percentage of personal income. The full set of New England numbers for this year are…(“All State and…

RI Has 7th Highest Taxes in U.S.

By Marc Comtois | July 10, 2007 |

By now, this is low-hanging fruit. But duty impels us to prescribe the ProJo’s Neil Downing report on a new RIPEC report- “How Rhode Island Compares“: Rhode Island has one of the nation’s highest tax burdens – and a big reason for that is local property taxes, a new study shows. Based on the overall…

Taxing the Vices of the Poor (and the rest of us)

By Marc Comtois | July 6, 2007 |

Gambling, Alcohol and Tobacco are all subject to “sin” taxes. We may as well add gasoline to the mix, too. According to the The National Center for Policy Analysis, all of ’em hit the poor hardest (h/t). Here’s a distillation of the Executive Summary of their report. “The dollar amount spent on the lottery by…

The Always Exciting Topic of Capital Gains Taxes

By Carroll Andrew Morse | June 18, 2007 |

Projo business columnist Neil Downing points out that Rhode Island’s capital gains tax debate tends to get over-simplified to the point of inaccuracy. The oft-discussed phaseout (that the House has voted to delay this year) applies only to long-term capital gains, i.e. profits made from selling assets held for five or more years. Tax rates…

Today, the Sky is Blue. And the Rhode Island Poverty Institute Wants to Raise Taxes

By Carroll Andrew Morse | May 30, 2007 |

Surprise! Kay Brewster, executive director of the Rhode Island Poverty Institute, calls for higher taxes in today’s Projo…State revenues — taxes, fees and other income — are the collective investments we make to create a quality of life in Rhode Island that we all enjoy and expect. These investments are essential to keeping our shorelines…

The Return of the Progressives Against Science Education

By Carroll Andrew Morse | May 25, 2007 |

Actually, it’s doubtful that they ever left. Jim Baron of the Pawtucket Times notes that the members of the Campaign for Rhode Island’s Priorities, as they did last year, want to cut Governor Donald Carcieri’s science education initiatives out of the state budget in order to fund non-educational social service spending…A coalition of social action…

“Stealth” Tax Increase?

By Marc Comtois | May 18, 2007 |

Dan Yorke has called attention to this piece of legislation–Brought to you by Reps. Slater, Naughton, Diaz, Almeida, and Lima–which amends the current RI Sales tax code to read: A tax is imposed upon sales at retail in this state including charges for rentals of living quarters in hotels, rooming houses, tourist camps, all services…

Representative Jack Savage on Education Aid & Tax Increases

By Carroll Andrew Morse | May 18, 2007 |

At last night’s East Providence GOP event, I had the opportunity to talk with State Representative and House Finance Committee member Jack Savage (R-East Providence) and turn Anchor Rising’s attempt to read the tea leaves with regards to the state budget deficit into a few concrete questions… Anchor Rising: Some recent comments made by public…

Hide Your Wallets, D.C. Dems are Coming….

By Marc Comtois | May 18, 2007 |

Republican Senator Mitch McConnell writes: While most of the media were busy covering the latest developments on the Iraq funding bill or the bipartisan immigration proposal, congressional Democrats on Thursday quietly passed a budget creating the framework for the largest tax increases in American history… Everyone takes a hit. Forty-five million working families with two…