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4/5/2023
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Senator McKenney sponsors several tax reform bills to ease taxpayer burdens
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STATE HOUSE — Sen. Mark McKenney (D-Dist. 30, Warwick) has introduced several bills aimed at easing the burden of taxpayers.
The first bill (2023-S 0092) would lower the state’s sales tax to 6 percent. Gov. Daniel McKee included a sales tax reduction in his FY 2024 budget proposal, which would lower the rate to 6.85 percent.
“When the state’s sales tax was raised to 7 percent back in 1990, it was marketed to us as a temporary measure to deal with a recession,” said Senator McKenney. “Due to mitigating factors, such as the banking crisis, that ‘temporary’ measure became a permanent one. We need to revisit the state sales tax, and the timing couldn’t be better. With our revenue stabilized, annual budget surpluses, and a broader and more diversified tax base, the time has come to put the sales tax back to 6 percent. We owe it to the taxpayers. I appreciate the governor’s proposal, but a reduction of merely .15 percent will do little good; and the impact on the finances of the average Rhode Islander would be negligible.”
The second bill (2023-S 0212) would allow property owners a one-time non-refundable tax credit for the actual costs of connecting a single family or multi-family dwelling to a municipal sewer system credited to the owner’s personal or corporate income tax.
“A forced sewer connection fee can be a terrible burden to homeowners,” said Senator McKenney. “And it’s an expense that people don’t foresee, so they can’t prepare for, either through savings or insurance. To have a huge cost like that dumped in your lap by the city or town is more than overwhelming, and this tax credit will help homeowners to overcome a burden that could put them in dire financial straits.”
The third bill (2023-S 0213) would create a sales tax holiday on August 12 and 13, 2023, which would coincide with Victory Day weekend.
“Our two neighboring states have tax holidays,” said Senator McKenney. “Instead of Rhode Islanders leaving the state to purchase goods elsewhere, we should be doing what we can to draw out-of-staters to Rhode Island to stimulate the economy. I want to see people from other states coming here to make their retail purchases. Massachusetts and Connecticut are both a short drive from Rhode Island, making a sales tax holiday an even better concept for a small state.”
The final bill (2023-S 0529) would gradually phase in modifications to federal adjusted gross income over a four-year period for Social Security income, from 25% up to 100%, beginning on or after Jan. 1, 2024.
“Retirees living on a fixed income are always the hardest hit by income tax,” said Senator McKenney. “Phasing in these modifications will go a long way toward helping them to live more enriched lives.”
All bills have been referred to the Senate Finance Committee.
For more information, contact:
Daniel Trafford, Publicist
State House Room 20
Providence, RI 02903
(401)222-1922
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