Taxation
In a white paper out yesterday from the Cato Institute, Governor Lincoln Chafee (as the chief executive of the Rhode Island government) received a score of D for fiscal policy. His score of 41 is based on spending, revenue, and tax changes that he proposed and/or that were implemented under his watch from January 2010…
Last night, I attended the first organizational meeting for the Tiverton branch of Sakonnet Toll Oppostion Platform (STOP), a cross-community effort to stop the state of Rhode Island from placing a toll on the Sakonnet River Bridge. If I was skeptical about the ability of residents to prevent the tolls before, I’m pretty well convinced that…
“Even if the government took all of the income earned by those who have an after-tax income of $1million or more, the amount of revenue generated would fall far short of eliminating the deficit.” More related charts here.
The House of Representatives–on a bi-partisan voice vote–passed the “Buffet Rule Act”, which allows anyone to voluntarily pay more in taxes. Under the legislation, which would still need Senate approval, taxpayers could check a box on their taxes and send in a check for more than they owe to the IRS. “If Warren Buffett and…
Readers shouldn’t be surprised to hear that I’m largely in agreement with Peter Ferrara’s “Obama’s Accelerating Downward Spiral for America,” but he happens to voice one bit of center-right common wisdom with which I have growing disagreement: There is no secret or magic as to how to turn around these declining incomes. Increased investment in business…
GoLocalProv’s Dan Lawlor has a column today in which he attempts to causatively link Rhode Island’s top income tax rate to our unemployment rate. In 1997, during a boom economy in RI- remember the Renaissance? – the top income earners had a 27.5% income tax rate. Our jobless rate was 5.3%. Ah, but then, in…
I can’t confirm if this was filmed in Rhode Island or not (h/t): “I’m gonna fight for MY piece of the taxpayer pie.” “What’s a crony?” “It’s like having a best friend who gives you other people’s stuff.” “We take care of our friends.” “We get to spend taxpayer money any way we want.” “Why…
Rhode Islanders, mainly from the East Bay, have organized a protest at Clements Market in Portsmouth, this afternoon, against tolls on the Sakonnet River Bridge. The hope is that the language that the General Assembly passed into law, this session, as Article 20 of the budget bill (7323Aaa) can be reversed. That article and the…
Governor Chafee’s spokeswoman, Christine Hunsinger, confirmed this morning that one of the items in the FY2013 budget was a tax amnesty program. It will run from September 2 to November 15, 2012 and will apply to state taxes including income, sales, use, and unemployment insurance. Note that while monetary penalties and prosecution will be waived…