Rhode Island
ITEP Testimony: Miles Trinidad on Rhode Island’s High-Earner Income Tax Surcharge
May 6, 2025
This written testimony was submitted to the Rhode Island House Finance Committee on May 6, 2025. Thank you for the opportunity to provide testimony in support of H-5473, a bill to create a 3 percent surcharge on those earning over $625,000 a year. My name is Miles Trinidad. I am an analyst at the Institute […]
Video: ITEP’s Carl Davis Discusses ‘Who Pays?’ at Rhode Island Revenue Roundtable
February 5, 2024
ITEP researcher Carl Davis joins the Economic Progress Institute (EPI) for Rhode Island's Revenue Roundtable.
The Economic Progress Institute: Rhode Island Standard of Need
November 18, 2022
With scenic beaches, culinary and arts communities, higher education institutions, and a vibrant celebration of culture, Rhode Island can be a wonderful place to live and to raise a family. Yet many Rhode Islanders work at jobs with wages that pay too little to meet even the most basic living costs. They experience multiple barriers […]
Revenue for Rhode Island: An Equitable Path Forward
August 18, 2020
We propose raising revenue for Rhode Island by adding one new tax bracket for the top 1% of earners – from 5.99% to 8.99% on adjusted gross income above $475,000. The average adjusted gross income for those impacted is $1 million dollars per year. This proposal will have no effect on Rhode Islanders outside of […]
Economic Progress Institute: Rhode Island Standard of Need
December 20, 2018
The RISN calculates a household budget for families with two young children, and for single adults. The no-frills budget includes the costs of housing, food, transportation, health care, child care and other necessities including clothing, toiletries and telephone service. The RISN also demonstrates how work supports like food assistance, tax credits, and child care and health care subsidies help close the gap between income and basic need expenses. By taking all of these factors into account, the RISN provides a more realistic measure of the economic security of Rhode Islanders than the federal poverty level.
Uprise RI: Low-income Taxpayers in Rhode Island Pay Over 50 Percent More in Taxes Than the Wealthiest
October 17, 2018
There’s a practical reason for Rhode Island and all states to be concerned about regressive tax structures, according to ITEP. If the nation fails to address growing income inequality, states will have difficulty raising the revenue they need over time. The more income that goes to the wealthy (and the lower a state’s overall tax rate on the wealthy), the slower a state’s revenue grows over time.
Twelve States Offer Profitable Tax Shelter to Private School Voucher Donors; IRS Proposal Could Fix This
October 2, 2018 • By Carl Davis
A proposed IRS regulation would eliminate a tax shelter for private school donors in twelve states by making a commonsense improvement to the federal tax deduction for charitable gifts. For years, some affluent taxpayers who donate to private K-12 school voucher programs have managed to turn a profit by claiming state tax credits and federal tax deductions that, taken together, are worth more than the amount donated. This practice could soon come to an end under the IRS’s broader goal of ending misuse of the charitable deduction by people seeking to dodge the federal SALT deduction cap.
Most States Have Raised Gas Taxes in Recent Years
May 22, 2018 • By Carl Davis
An updated version of this blog was published in April 2019. State tax policy can be a contentious topic, but in recent years there has been a remarkable level of agreement on one tax in particular: the gasoline tax. Increasingly, state lawmakers are deciding that outdated gas taxes need to be raised and reformed to fund infrastructure projects that are vital to their economies.
Economic Progress Institute: Changes in Federal Tax Law Will Cut Taxes for Many Rhode Islanders; Wealthiest Families and Corporations Benefit the Most
March 7, 2018
To help explain what the Act will mean for Rhode Island, the Economic Progress Institute released a paper entitled "Changes in federal tax law will cut taxes for many Rhode Islanders; wealthiest families and corporations benefit the most."
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