Rhode Island
Wealth Tax in Rhode Island Could Raise Millions While Improving Fairness – Uprise RI
Massachusetts recently implemented a 4% surtax on annual incomes over $1 million, known as the “Fair Share” wealth tax. Analysis from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) finds that this tax makes Massachusetts’ overall state and local tax system more equitable.
Specifically, the ITEP analysis shows that prior to the “Fair Share” tax, the top 1% of earners in Massachusetts paid 7.7% of their income in state and local taxes. The bottom 95% of earners paid 9.4% of their income in Massachusetts taxes. With the 4% surtax on income over $1 million, the tax rate on the top 1% of earners rises to 9.1% – still below the 9.4% rate the bottom 95% pay, but an increase in progressivity and tax fairness.
The ITEP data indicates that while the “Fair Share” wealth tax made Massachusetts’ tax system more equitable, there is room for further improvement. Even with the surtax, the top 1% in Massachusetts pay a smaller share of their income in taxes than the bottom 95 percent. This demonstrates that a single wealth tax, while impactful, may not fully flip a regressive system into a progressive one. Regular re-evaluation and adjustment of top-end tax rates may be required to continue furthering tax fairness over time.
Nevertheless, ITEP’s 50-state analysis makes clear that the “Fair Share” surtax, along with other tax changes in Massachusetts last year, have combined to make Massachusetts one of the least regressive states in the country tax-wise. In fact, whereas Massachusetts ranked in the bottom third of states for tax fairness before the recent changes, it now ranks in the top ten for tax progressivity.
The “Fair Share” wealth tax represents a major driver of the improvement in tax fairness in Massachusetts. While nine other states collect a greater share of income from their top 1% of earners, the addition of the 4% surtax on annual income over $1 million went further in Massachusetts than most states’ attempts to tax the wealthy and reduce tax code regressivity.
What does this mean for Rhode Island? While Rhode Island does not currently have a comparable wealth tax, the experience in nearby Massachusetts provides an example of how a similar approach could improve equity in Rhode Island’s tax code as well.
Rhode Island policymakers looking to invest in programs benefiting lower and middle income families may want to consider modeling a wealth tax on Massachusetts’ “Fair Share” surtax. Further analysis would be needed to estimate potential revenue yields from a wealth tax in Rhode Island, and how new funds could be utilized.
However, the clear impacts in Massachusetts can inform initial policy debates in Rhode Island. The ITEP data shows that targeting even marginally higher tax rates on the very highest earners can make state tax systems measurably more fair. Additional revenue generated can provide substantial resources to expand public services that promote broadly shared economic opportunity.
The ITEP data could also help shape discussions in Rhode Island around optimal tax rates and income thresholds for a potential wealth tax. Their analysis shows that while Massachusetts 4% surtax on income over $1 million improved tax progressivity, the state’s tax system remains regressive overall. This implies Rhode Island may need a higher wealth tax rate than Massachusetts or need to apply graduated rates across multiple income brackets to completely flip its tax code right-side up.
Rhode Island ranks near the middle nationally in terms of the tax fairness of its current state and local tax structures. But with thoughtful wealth tax design modeled on Massachusetts’ example, Rhode Island could vault into the top tier of states for tax progressivity.
Massachusetts dedicates its “Fair Share” wealth tax income for education and transportation. Rhode Island revenue could similarly fund investments in areas like infrastructure, affordable housing, healthcare, and education.
For instance, increased access to early childhood education provides perhaps the highest return on public investment available. Enabling more working families to enroll children in pre-K programs yields better academic, social, and economic outcomes over their lifetimes. It also strengthens communities overall by developing future generations of better-prepared, higher-earning workers and citizens.
If modeled after Massachusetts, a wealth tax could provide Rhode Island with hundreds of millions in new annual revenue that could make transformative investments possible. Though only approximately 2,000 high net worth households would pay the wealth tax, benefits would be felt across Rhode Island through expansions of vital public services.
As Rhode Island continues to debate its fiscal future, examining the impacts of a wealth tax on fairness, revenue, and public services can contribute an important perspective. Massachusetts’ “Fair Share” experience shows the potential of targeted tax increases on top earners to further tax progressivity, raise substantial revenue for key priorities like education, and promote broadly shared prosperity. Rhode Island policymakers would be wise to take notice.
Rhode Island
Bodycam footage shows moments police respond to Pawtucket shooting
Police bodycam footage shows the moments officers arrived to the scene of a deadly mass shooting in Pawtucket, Rhode Island.
The shooting on Feb. 16 at the Dennis M. Lynch Arena killed Rhonda Dorgan and Aidan Dorgan, the ex-wife and son of the shooter, who died by suicide.
If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or chat live at 988lifeline.org. You can also visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional support.
Gerald Dorgan, Rhonda’s father, died from his injuries this week. His wife, Linda Dorgan, and family friend Thomas Geruso remain hospitalized.
Around five minutes after the first officer arrives, he beings helping paramedics with a man who identifies himself as Aidan. Twelve minutes in, Aidan Dorgan is transported to the hospital, where he would later die from his injuries.
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline by calling 1-800-799-SAFE (7233), visiting www.thehotline.org or texting LOVEIS to 22522.
For the last 10 minutes of the footage, the officer then begins helping paramedics transport the other three gunshot victims.
The video ends with police prepping witness interviews.
The shooting rocked the Pawtucket community. Chris Librizzi, head coach of the Blackstone Valley Schools hockey team impacted by the shooting, said the players and coaching staff “are devastated over the events that took place at Lynch Arena on Monday and intimately affected one of our teammates.”
As authorities continue investigating the shooting in Pawtucket, three patients remain in critical condition.
“We will lean on each other and support one another, as we have always done as a team,” he added.
Pawtucket police said two handguns were found at the scene after the shooting, a Sig Sauer P226 and Glock. Other weapons have been seized at the suspect’s storage unit in Maine.
Investigators continue reviewing all video evidence from before, during and after the shooting, including surveillance footage from the Dennis M. Lynch Arena, police body-worn camera footage and other records — a high school sports livestream captured the shooting from a distance — police said.
Rhode Island
Man killed in RI shooting; suspect involved in Mass. car crash that killed 2 others
A man has died after a shooting in Cranston, Rhode Island, and investigators say a suspect was later involved in a car crash in Swansea, Massachusetts, that killed two other people.
The shooting victim was found Thursday on Legion Way, shot multiple times in the chest, Cranston police told NBC affiliate WJAR-TV. He was taken to Rhode Island Hospital where he later died. His name has not been released.
The suspect initially fled on foot, setting off a shelter-in-place order while investigators searched the area.
Police said Friday that investigators identified a suspect vehicle, which was later spotted by Massachusetts State Police. A trooper followed the car down Route 6 and Interstate 195, but stopped when it crossed back into Rhode Island. The car was later involved in a crash on Route 136 in Swansea, Mass.
Swansea police say that crash on Route 136 (James Reynolds Road) resulted in the deaths of two other people.
According to the Swansea Police Department, two officers saw a white Infinity G37 speed past them around 12:18 a.m. Friday on Route 6, otherwise known as Grand Army of the Republic Highway. Moments later, officers observed that the vehicle had crashed into the side of a blue Subaru Ascent that had been traveling southbound on Route 136.
Both vehicles sustained catastrophic damage, police said.
The vehicle that was struck was fully engulfed in flames. First responders and bystanders tried to extinguish the fire, but both occupants — a man and a woman — were pronounced dead at the scene, police said. Their names have not been released.
The 28-year-old Infinity driver, who struck the victims’ Subaru, was taken to Rhode Island Hospital with serious injuries and later into custody by Cranston Police. They have not been publicly identified at this time.
Swansea police said they are aware that the Infinity was the subject of a police pursuit, and know the driver was wanted in connection to the Rhode Island homicide investigation. While Swansea police had been alerted to be on the lookout for the suspect’s vehicle, however, they say they were not involved in the pursuit and were not pursuing the vehicle at the time of the deadly crash.
The crash in Swansea is under investigation by Massachusetts authorities, including state police and the Bristol County District Attorney’s Office. Meanwhile, Cranston police said they would give an update on their investigation around 1 p.m.
Rhode Island
RI House speaker unveils housing bills for 2026. What to know
House Speaker Shekarchi unveils 2026 RI housing legislative package
House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi’s nine-bill package for 2026 seeks to cut red tape and relax rules on parking, dividing lots and staircases.
House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi is once again taking aim at the regulations he says are stifling new homebuilding.
The Warwick Democrat unveiled his sixth annual suite of housing legislation on Thursday, Feb. 26, a few weeks after announcing he would not be running for governor this year.
“We are still trying to play catch-up for all the years that Rhode Island was dead last in the country for new housing starts,” Shekarchi said. “While Rhode Island remains a relatively affordable option for people moving here from other states, our own residents are too often priced out of the neighborhoods they grew up in.”
The legislative text of the nine-bill housing package, and with it the specifics of how it would work, were not available for Thursday’s news conference.
But highlights of the package, according to summaries, include:
- Infill housing. Allow property owners to divide lots in single-family zoning districts, creating multiple dwellings instead of one, provided they have water and sewer service.
- Parking maximums. Put new limits on how much off-street parking communities require for new apartment buildings.
- Homeless Bill of Rights. Expand the state’s Homeless Bill of Rights to require 15-day notice to the occupants of encampments before local authorities clear them.
- Emergency shelters. Let communities build temporary shelters, such as the ECHO Village Pallet shelter in Providence, during a state of emergency.
- Stairs. Legalize the construction of four-story apartment buildings with a single staircase.
- Affordable housing taxes. Overhaul the tax system for income-restricted housing covered by the state’s “8 Law.”
Is land-use reform working?
Since Shekarchi was elected speaker in 2021, the General Assembly has passed dozens of bills he backed that tweaked state land-use statutes or streamlined the process for building.
How successful this approach has been is subject to debate.
Many local elected officials wary of development in their communities continue to rail against efforts to erode their power over construction.
Others in the growing Yes In My Back Yard movement see Rhode Island’s piecemeal approach as inadequate in comparison with the scale of the affordability problem and what other states are doing.
As evidence that his changes are making a difference, Shekarchi said Rhode Island saw a 70% increase in building permits in 2023 and a more modest increase in 2024. (Statistics for last year were not immediately available.)
Gov. Dan McKee’s 2030 plan calls for 15,000 new housing units built by that year.
Democratic primary challenger Helena Foulkes is slated to roll out her housing plan on Monday.
It is expected to include a millionaires tax to fund affordable housing, a revolving fund and target of 20,000 new homes.
What would the new laws do?
Letting property owners put multiple homes on a plot of land is one of the most direct ways that lawmakers can encourage the construction of more homes, but it is also one of the most controversial.
That’s especially true in areas zoned for large lots and single-family homes.
How far the new bill allowing lots to be subdivided in single-family zones goes is unclear. It is sponsored by Rep. Stephen Casey, D-Woonsocket.
Legislation setting maximum parking requirements for new developments, introduced by Rep. Joshua Giraldo, D-Central Falls, would apply to areas accessible by public transit.
Critics of off-street parking requirements say they make it harder to build new apartments and make the units that are built more expensive.
Shekarchi proposed the emergency shelter bill last year. It passed the House and died in the Senate.
It was the result of how long it took state officials to navigate Rhode Island’s building code and open the ECHO Village Pallet shelter in Providence.
The staircase bill, sponsored by Rep. June Speakman, a Warren Democrat and chair of the House’s home affordability study commission, follows a wave of cities and states relaxing rules on how many exits are required in new construction.
Currently, the state building code requires two stairways in buildings with more than three stories, and fire officials have opposed all efforts to change that.
Speakman’s bill would allow four-story buildings with a maximum of 16 units with a single staircase.
Supporters of single-stair buildings say they allow development of small sites that would otherwise sit vacant and allow family-sized units with more light and better ventilation.
A previous Rhode Island single-stair bill would have allowed six stories, but it died in committee.
Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey signed an executive order in mid-February to study the idea.
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