Rhode Island
Georgia Budget and Policy Institute: Income Tax Cuts Won’t Boost Georgia Economy
May 7, 2015
Big income tax cuts did not improve the economies of states that enacted them, and states without income taxes do not consistently grow more jobs or have stronger economies. Six states cut income taxes sharply from 2002 to 2007, before the most recent recession. Three of them – Arizona, Ohio and Rhode Island – grew […]
Economic Progress Institute: Few Winners and Many Losers in RI Tax Reform
April 29, 2015
The budget passed by the House Finance committee made three significant tax policy changes that will impact the income of tens of thousands of Rhode Islanders. The estate tax, earned income tax credit, and property tax relief program were all dramatically altered in the budget. Read the full report.
Undocumented Immigrants’ State & Local Tax Contributions (2015)
April 15, 2015 • By Matthew Gardner, Meg Wiehe
This report was updated February 2016 Read as a PDF. (Includes Full Appendix of State-by-State Data) Report Landing Page In the public debates over federal immigration reform, sufficient and accurate information about the tax contributions of undocumented immigrants is often lacking. The reality is the 11.4 million undocumented immigrants living in the United States pay billions […]
Vermont Public Radio: Business Leaders Mount Campaign Against Plan to Limit Tax Deductions
April 15, 2015
Carl Davis is a senior analyst at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a Washington, D.C., based research group that analyzes federal, state and local tax policies. Davis, who lives in Vermont, says there’s no reason to think Vermont would suffer any competitive disadvantage if it goes through with the plan. “Massachusetts, Connecticut and […]
Reuters: Why Are States Leaving Billions in Retiree Income on the Table?
April 13, 2015
Illinois exempts all retirement income from state taxes – Social Security, private and public pensions, and annuities. We’re leaving $2 billion on the table annually, according to the state’s estimates. And we’re hardly alone: 36 states that have an income tax allow some exemption for private or public pension benefits, and 32 exempt all Social […]
State governments provide a wide array of tax breaks for their elderly residents. Almost every state that levies an income tax now allows some form of income tax exemption or credit for citizens over age 65 that is unavailable to non-elderly taxpayers. And most states provide special property tax breaks to the elderly. Unfortunately, too many of these breaks are poorly-targeted, unsustainable, and unfair. This policy brief surveys federal and state approaches to reducing taxes for older adults and suggests options for designing less costly and better targeted tax breaks for elderly taxpayers.
The Economic Progress Institute: Making Work Pay for Working Families: Increasing the State’s Earned Income Tax Credit
March 18, 2015
Workers who receive the EITC pay federal payroll taxes, sales and property taxes, and more. In fact, Rhode Island has the 5th highest taxes on low-income households in the nation. The lowest-income taxpayers pay nearly twice as much of their income towards taxes as the wealthiest Rhode Islanders.
The federal government and many states are seeing shortfalls in their transportation budgets in part because the gasoline taxes they use to generate those funds are poorly designed. Thirty-one states and the federal government levy "fixed-rate" gas taxes where the tax rate does not change even as the cost of infrastructure materials inevitably increases over time. The federal government's 18.4 cent gas tax, for example, has not increased in over 22 years. And twenty states have gone a decade or more without a gas tax increase.
Providence Journal: Taxing the Poor
February 12, 2015
“While the federal income tax system is generally progressive, state and local taxes hit lower-income Americans hard. The nonprofit Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy has been on a mission to emphasize the fact, and to draw state-by-state comparisons. In its latest annual report, it condemned all systems across the board, concluding that “virtually every […]
Economic Progress Institute: Making Work Pay for Working Families
February 2, 2015
Rhode Islanders who work full-time should be able to support their families. Yet, far too many are struggling to pay for housing, heat, food, and health care. Increasing Rhode Island’s refundable Earned Income Tax Credit to 20 percent from 10 percent would put hundreds of dollars back in the pockets of working families, improving their […]
Providence Business News: Study finds R.I.’s poorest residents pay more taxes than wealthiest
January 16, 2015
“A new study says that taxpayers in the lowest-income bracket in Rhode Island can expect to pay nearly twice as much of their income toward state and local taxes as the wealthiest 1 percent. The study, “Who Pays?”, was released Wednesday by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy and the Economic Progress Institute.” Read […]
Go Local Providence: RI Ranks 5th Worst For Taxes on the Poor
January 16, 2015
“A study released Wednesday by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) and the Economic Progress Institute shows that the lowest income Rhode Islanders pay 12.5 percent of their income towards state and local taxes compared to the state’s wealthiest residents who pay 6.3 percent. Rhode Island now ranks 5th worst in the country […]
Economic Progress Institute: Making Work Pay for Working Families: Increasing the State’s Earned Income Tax Credit
January 16, 2015
Rhode Islanders who work full-time should be able to support their families. Yet, far too many are struggling to pay for housing, heat, food, and health care. Increasing Rhode Island’s refundable Earned Income Tax Credit to 20 percent from 10 percent would put hundreds of dollars back in the pockets of working families, improving their […]
WPRO: Low-income Rhode Islanders share an unfair portion of the tax burden
January 15, 2015
“Rhode Island now ranks as one of the top states for placing a large tax burden on the poor, according to the Economic Progress Institute. In a joint study, the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy and the Economic Progress Institute states that Rhode Island ranks fifth worst in the nation due to collecting 12.5% […]
The Providence Journal: Study finds poorest Rhode Islanders paying higher percentage of taxes than wealthiest
January 15, 2015
Rhode Island’s poorest residents can expect to pay nearly twice as much of their income in state and local taxes than the state’s wealthiest 1 percent, according to a new study. That data ranks Rhode Island fifth-worst in the country for taxes on the poor, worse than its ninth-place ranking two years ago, according to […]
The Providence Journal: RI’s poorest residents pay higher percentage of income in taxes than highest 1 percent
January 14, 2015
“Rhode Island’s poorest residents can expect to pay nearly twice as much of their income in taxes than the state’s wealthiest 1 percent, according to a new study. That data ranks Rhode Island fifth-worst in the country for taxes on the poor, worse than its ninth-place ranking two years ago, according to a study released […]
Economic Progress Institute: 2014 Rhode Island Standard of Need
December 19, 2014
What it costs to live and raise a family in Rhode Island and how work supports help families meet basic needs Rhode Island is a beautiful state with sandy beaches, world class restaurants, and a vibrant arts and culture scene. Yet many workers in our state struggle just to pay for the basics, making it […]
Read the Report in PDF Form The Census Bureau released data in September showing that the share of Americans living in poverty remains high. In 2013, the national poverty rate was 14.5 percent, a slight drop from last years’ rate of 15 percent and the first decline since 2006.1 However, the poverty rate remains 2.0 […]
For much of the last century, estate and inheritance taxes have played an important role in helping states to adequately fund public services in a way that improves the progressivity of state tax systems. While many of the taxes levied by state and local governments fall most heavily on low-income families, only the very wealthy pay estate and inheritance taxes. Recent changes in the federal estate tax, however, culminating in the "fiscal cliff " deal of early 2013, have forced states to reevaluate the structure of their estate and inheritance taxes. Unfortunately, the trend of late has tended toward weakening…
Providence Journal: Immigrant says now is the time for advocacy
July 16, 2014
“The new definition of America, [journalist Jose Antonio Vargas] said, must acknowledge the reality that today’s immigrants, like those before, are here to stay. They contribute to the economy. Vargas said undocumented workers in the United States paid $11.2 billion in state and local taxes in 2010.“‘Here in Rhode Island,’ he said, ‘they pay $28 million in […]
Economic Progress Institute: Improve Rhode Island’s Earned Income Tax Credit to Help Hard-working Rhode Islanders
April 14, 2014
Rhode Island is among 25 states and the District of Columbia that offer a state EITC, but unlike most states, the credit is only partially refundable. Just over 83,000 Rhode Island taxpayers claimed the state’s EITC in Tax Year 2012 . The average credit was $119. Of those taxpayers receiving a credit, 73,119 received a […]
Toledo Blade: Whose tax cut?
February 20, 2014
(Original Post) The latest scheme to cut state income tax rates would favor the rich, increase inequality, and harm basic services Gov. John Kasich and many members of the Republican-controlled General Assembly will campaign for re-election this year largely on their efforts to cut Ohio’s personal income tax yet again. Voters — at least middle-class […]
La Crosse Tribune: Q&A – Gov. Scott Walker’s tax cut proposal
February 3, 2014
(Original Post) MATTHEW DeFOUR | Wisconsin State Journal | State lawmakers have nearly a billion dollars at their disposal because of higher-than-expected past and future tax revenues. As a result, Gov. Scott Walker has proposed more than $500 million in tax cuts. The Legislature will take up the plan as early as Feb. 11. Here’s […]
Go Local Worcester: MA Residents Face Among Highest Transportation Costs in US
January 9, 2014
(Original Post) Thursday, January 09, 2014 Zeke Wright, GoLocalWorcester Contibutor While Massachusetts contributes a high percentage of transportation-related revenue toward roads, a new report show that road-related taxes and fees can’t keep pace with cost of upkeep in the Commonwealth. According to the data compiled by the Tax Foundation, tolls and user fees, fuel taxes, […]
Shreveport Times: Taxes – Where is Louisiana?
November 18, 2013
Nov. 15, 2013 Written by Tommy Williams Special to The Times Right now, inflation is not meeting expectations — and that may be a good thing. Critics of the prevailing monetary policy and low interest rates have predicted inflation will rise. Martin Feldstein, president of the National Bureau for Economic Research, explained in 2012 that […]
Institute on Taxation
and Economic Policy
ITEP is a non-profit, non-partisan tax policy organization. We conduct rigorous analyses of tax and economic proposals and provide data-driven recommendations to shape equitable and sustainable tax systems.
Subscribe to ITEP Emails
Tax research and policy news in your inbox.
Promote Fair Tax Policy
Your gift to ITEP promotes tax justice. With your help, we do research that supports taxing millionaires and billionaires, taxing big corporations and raising revenue for the things our people, our communities and our planet need.
Together, we can create a country with more economic justice, more racial justice, more climate justice… and more tax justice.