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1/23/2026
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State lawmakers announce “Fair Share for Rhode Island” package
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 STATE HOUSE — A group of lawmakers came together Thursday to announce an emergency “Fair Share for Rhode Island Package,” a set of four bills that will ensure the wealthiest people in the state pay a comparable share of their income in taxes as the rest of Rhode Island filers. Revenue raised by the Fair Share for Rhode Island Package is desperately needed for the state to adequately fund public schools, hospitals, childcare centers, roads, bridges and public transit.
The Fair Share Package is expected to raise more than $650 million annually and only affect the state’s top earners and people with extreme wealth.
“In a state steered by Democrats, we have to do better for working people,” said Rep. Brandon Potter (D-Dist. 16, Cranston). “This group of Working Families Democrats are committed to passing this Fair Share for Rhode Island Package so that we can help keep children fed and keep seniors on their health care, while raising more than $650 million a year to support good schools, transportation and the state workforce needed to deliver the high-quality services that make Rhode Island a better and more affordable place for all of us to live.”
The package includes a 1-percent tax wealth on a Rhode Island filer’s worldwide financial assets above $25 million that will be introduced by Representative Potter in the House and Sen. Tiara T. Mack in the Senate; a 3-percent surtax on taxable income above approximately $640,000 that will be introduced by Rep. Karen Alzate (D-Dist. 60, Pawtucket, Central Falls) and Sen. Melissa Murray (D-Dist. 24, Woonsocket, North Smithfield); a 4-percent wealth proceeds tax which equalizes the tax treatment of earned and unearned income by taxing passive income such as capital gains, dividends, interest and annuities that will be introduced by Rep. Teresa A. Tanzi and Sen. Meghan E. Kallman (D-Dist. 15, Pawtucket, Providence); and a digital ads tax on businesses with $1 million in annual gross revenue from digital advertising services that has been introduced by Senator Kallman (2026-S 2028) and will shortly be introduced by Rep. Terri Cortvriend (D-Dist. 72, Portsmouth, Middletown) in the House.
“The choice really is simple. We can either meet the needs of working Rhode Island families, or we can continue to give tax breaks to the wealthy few,” said Senator Mack (D-Dist. 6, Providence). “Passing the Fair Share for Rhode Island Package means finally prioritizing the hardworking Rhode Islanders who keep this state running — the nurses who kept us safe throughout the pandemic, the teachers who pay for school supplies out of their own pockets, the bus drivers who take us where we need to go — over a handful of wealthy and well-connected families.”
At the press conference, lawmakers emphasized that the Fair Share for Rhode Island Package is necessary to help fill the critical funding gaps brought on by the program cuts in President Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill,” and the recurring state budget deficit. As it stands, RIPTA has a $32 million funding shortfall, Rhode Island will lose nearly $30 million in federal education funding halted by the Trump administration, and the state is facing a budget deficit of more than $100 million dollars.
“We know budgets are moral documents,” said Representative Tanzi (D-Dist. 34, South Kingstown, Narragansett). “But what lays our morals bare is how we pay for our budgets – by cutting the services we depend on to the bone, or by asking the wealthy to pay their fair share, so that we have more of the funding we need to help improve the lives of everyone who lives here.”
For years, the highest-income households in Rhode Island — those in the top 1 percent — have paid a smaller share of their income in state and local taxes than any other income group. They’ve also benefited from repeated federal tax cuts: 83 percent of the 2017 tax bill’s benefits went to the top 1 percent. Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill,” passed in 2025, delivers an additional $1 trillion in tax cuts to the top 1 percent while cutting more than $1.1 trillion from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Medicaid and other health programs used by the poorest Americans.
Gov. Dan McKee recently proposed a “millionaire’s tax” following years of advocacy by labor, faith and other groups in the Revenue for Rhode Island coalition. But the governor’s proposal neglects to tax the wealthiest Rhode Islanders in a way that genuinely reflects their ability to pay, forgoes billions of dollars on the table, and leaves open too many loopholes for the ultra-wealthy to avoid taxes. Under the governor’s proposal, many nurses and teachers would still pay more of their income in taxes than the wealthiest 1%.
Under the governor’s proposal, for example, if an heir in Newport with $500 million in yachts, jewelry and fine art, and a teacher with no savings both bring home $50,000 in taxable income next year, they would pay the same amount in federal taxes, despite their vastly different circumstances. Just increasing income taxes won’t address this problem.
“The case is compelling,” said Rep. Rebecca Kislak (D-Dist. 4, Providence). “We’re talking about fairness and protecting our communities. Everyone here is committed to fighting for the Fair Share for Rhode Island package and for unrigging our tax system so we all can benefit. We call on the governor and our colleagues in both houses to show up for the working people of our state.”
IN PHOTO: from left, Rep. Rebecca Kislak, Rep. Michelle McGaw, Sen. Tiara T, Mack, Rep. David Morales and Rep. Teresa A. Tanzi.
For more information, contact:
Tristan Grau, Publicist
State House Room B20
Providence, RI 02903
401.222.4935
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