Rhode Island
Hasbro HQ vs. RIPTA funding: What’s at stake under a potential tax on R.I.’s top earners • Rhode Island Current
While Gov. Dan McKee pledged to not raise taxes during his 2025 State of the State address, a crowd of progressive advocates gathered a floor below him rallied for higher taxes on the state’s top earners.
The perennial push to bring a millionaire’s tax to Rhode Island got off to an earlier and more fiery beginning than usual this year. Not surprising, given what’s at stake on both sides of the debate.
To proponents, the tax policy offers a crucial way to boost state revenues, staving off cuts to social services, public transit and health care amid projections of a $223 million structural deficit for the fiscal year that starts July 1. Legislation proposing an extra tax on the top 1% of state earners is slated to be introduced in both chambers this week.
Equally stalwart in their opposition, naysayers insist the tax will cause employers and wealthy residents to seek tax-friendlier pastures.
Including Hasbro Inc. The Pawtucket-based toy and gaming empire is considering a move to Massachusetts, citing the stronger talent pool and access to amenities that Rhode Island lacks.
The absence of a millionaire’s tax, though, is one way the Ocean State can still compete against its northern neighbor, which began a 4% surtax on income over $1 million in 2023.
“It’s a competitive advantage,” House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi said, speaking to reporters after Gov. Dan McKee’s State of the State address on Jan. 14. “I think the governor is using that to keep Hasbro and the Hasbro workers in Rhode Island.”
Hasbro did not return multiple inquiries for comment. Company executives have never mentioned state income taxes in publicly released emails or investors’ calls regarding potential relocation plans.
But it’s clear to Laurie White that the company’s calculus on whether to stay or go hinges on costs associated with doing business — including income taxes.
“It’s about two things: access to talent and the cost structure,” White, president of the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce, said in an interview. “We can’t compete 1-to-1 with Massachusetts on the talent basis. But on taxes, that’s a consideration.”
Rhode Island lacks the appeal of states like New Hampshire or Florida, which don’t tax personal income at all. But it managed to edge out Massachusetts for the first time in a decade last year, in a ranking of state business tax climates by the Tax Foundation.
Rhode Island ranked 41st among states with the most business-friendly tax policies, while Massachusetts fell to 46th. The report cited Massachusetts’ millionaire’s tax as a key reason for its lower ranking compared with past years.
“We do not want to lose that momentum,” Olivia DaRocha, a spokesperson for McKee, said in an email. She also raised an oft-cited argument among opponents of wealth taxes: that states that raise taxes see their top-earners move elsewhere.
A separate Jan. 7 analysis by the Tax Foundation linked lower state income taxes to where people moved within the United States in fiscal year 2024.
The Commonwealth saw the sixth-largest net loss in residents in fiscal 2024, losing .39% of its population, based on an analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data. Rhode Island’s population shrank ever-so-slightly, down .03%, according to the report.
“Rhode Island should learn a lesson from its neighbor to the north about targeting residents’ incomes,” Katherine Loughead, senior policy analyst and research manager for the Tax Foundation, said in an interview. “Rhode Island is already trending in the wrong direction. Outbound migration could be expected to get considerably worse if Rhode Island was to adopt a significant tax increase.”
Not so, according to Alan Krinsky, director of research and fiscal policy for The Economic Progress Institute, which has supported a Rhode Island millionaire’s tax. Ahead of a forthcoming Institute research paper on the “tax migration myth,” Krinsky poked holes in the Tax Foundation’s analysis.
For one thing, Massachusetts was already losing residents at a similar clip even before voters approved the millionaire’s tax. Also noteworthy to Krinsky are the sizes of population swings, which range from .65% loss in Hawaii to 1.26% gain in South Carolina.
“That’s hardly a mass exodus,” Krinsky said.
Meanwhile, other studies suggest taxes hold little sway over where people move. New York saw the number of millionaire households increase by 17,500 from 2020 to 2022, despite imposing a higher tax on income over $1.1 million during that time period, according to a December 2023 report by the Fiscal Policy Institute. Residents who earned over $850,000 a year were less likely to move out of state than people in lower-income brackets, the report found.
Loughead acknowledged that taxes are just one factor in a complex decision of where to move: cost-of-living, particularly housing costs, also plays an important role. New England overall has seen its population decline because of a higher median age and migration to southern states.
Fiscal and policy experts largely agree it’s too early to draw conclusions from Massachusetts’ tax on millionaires. Initial state estimates predicted a $2.2 billion revenue boost from the surtax in fiscal 2024. The Massachusetts Department of Revenue projected $2.4 billion revenue from the tax in fiscal 2026 budget projections, according to news reports.
Less abstract than future forecasts about revenue and population are the financial woes facing the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority, hospitals, and social services. All the more reason, Krinsky said, to consider a surtax on top earners.
Rep. Karen Alzate, a Pawtucket Democrat, plans to introduce legislation this week calling for a 3% surtax on the top 1% of state earners. Preliminary number-crunching suggests that, if approved, the tax would bring in $190 million in revenue per year, affecting residents with net taxable income of $650,000 or more.
Alzate, who introduced similar, though not identical legislation last year, hoped the looming budget deficit might make previous critics take a fresh look at her proposal.
“This is the year to do it,” she said. “We are facing a real deficit and we cannot afford to cut social services and education.”
McKee’s initial fiscal 2026 spending plan did not include higher taxes on top earners. Senate President Dominick Ruggerio has already signaled his opposition. Shekarchi pledged to remain open to all ideas.
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PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — Rhode Island State Police said a Providence man was arrested after police allegedly discovered multiple narcotics and a gun inside two residences on Sept. 23.
47-year-old Joel Garcia was charged with possession with the intent to deliver over 1 kilogram of fentanyl, possession with the intent to deliver over 1 kilogram of cocaine, possession with the intent to deliver one ounce to one kilogram of methamphetamine, possession with the intent to deliver fentanyl, possession with the intent to deliver cocaine, possession with the intent to deliver methamphetamine, possession of a firearm while committing a controlled substance violation, unlawful possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, and distribution of a controlled substance in a school zone.
According to RISP, police received court-authorized search warrants for two residences in Providence in connection to a narcotics and firearms investigation.
Inside an apartment on Dresser Street, police allegedly seized 1.7 kilograms of fentanyl, 2.3 kilograms of cocaine, and 147 grams of methamphetamine.
Police also searched Garcia’s residence on Portland Street and allegedly seized one fully loaded pistol.
According to police, Garcia had allegedly used the apartment on Dresser Street to “store, package, and distribute large amounts of fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine.”
Garcia was arrested and charged.
RISP, Providence police, Cranston police, North Providence police, Johnston police, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Rhode Island National Guard Counterdrug Program assisted in the investigation.
Millions have been mourning the death of a cinematic icon over the last week with the passing of Robert Redford at age 89.
The award-winning actor is arguably one of the most famous of all time. With over 70 films to his credit on screen and nine he directed throughout his career, Redford’s work in cinema stands out as some of the greatest.
Though only two of Redford’s movies were ever filmed in Rhode Island, the Oscar-winning actor has a deep connection with the Ocean State.
Redford’s Family Roots Near Rhode Island
Though no Redfords actually lived in Rhode Island, Robert’s family was longtime residents of Stonington, CT and several members were born in nearby Westerly, RI.
READ MORE: ‘Sopranos’ Star Officially Becomes a Rhode Island Resident
Throughout Robert Redford’s childhood there were visits to his grandparents in Stonington, where his grandfather worked as a milkman.
Presumably this time in Stonington meant crossing the state line into Westerly on more than one occasion in his youth and perhaps led to his love of the Rhode Island seaside in later years.
Filming The Great Gatsby in Newport
During his career, Redford came to Newport in the 1970s to film The Great Gatsby at the historic Rosecliff Mansion. Decades later he returned to Rhode Island with the science fiction film The Discovery and even wrote a thank you letter to Newport, praising their preservation efforts in the city.
READ MORE: HGTV Says You Need to Drive This Road in Newport
Though when he did ultimately settle in New England, Redford chose Weston, CT as his home for almost two decades. He purchased a home not too far from his close friend and fellow actor, Paul Newman.
Evan Agostini/Getty Images
Rhode Island Honors Robert Redford
Rhode Island never forgot its ties to the beloved actor however. In 2002 Redford was asked to be the commencement speaker at Brown University and that same year Trinity Repertory Company awarded him a Pell Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Arts.
Just one of the many lifetime achievement awards Robert Redford would go on to accumulate during his illustrious career.
20 Stars Who Hail From Rhode Island
Rhode Island may be the smallest state in the nation, but it has been home to many celebrities. Though some have moved here, filmed here or attended school here, only a handful were actually born here. These are those celebrities.
Gallery Credit: Nancy Hall
Academy Award and Golden Globe Winners from Massachusetts
These Massachusetts natives have taken home some of Hollywood’s top honors.
Gallery Credit: Michaela Johnson
30 Things To Do in Newport Any Time of Year
Newport has always been seen as a summer destination. Wealthy New Yorkers used to escape the city in the hotter months for this picturesque seaside spot and the label as a summer vacation destination began.
There are, however, plenty of things to do in this historic town in any season and we’ve found a few that you may want to try the next time you head to Newport.
Gallery Credit: Nancy Hall
Rhode Island
GoLocalProv | Sports | VIDEO: Providence’s Lassiter Scores 44-Yard TD in Vanderbilt’s Upset Over #11 South Carolina
Sunday, September 14, 2025
Zell Lassiter
PHOTO: Via Vanderbilt
Providence’s Jamezell Lassiter had a big play on a huge stage on Saturday when Vanderbilt football upset #11 South Carolina. SEE 7:25 MARK.
Lassiter, who played for the Edgewood Eagles and the Mount Hope Cowboys and attended the San Miguel School in Providence, smoked the Gamecocks on a 44-yard touchdown score.
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Vanderbilt won 31-7 over No. 11 South Carolina, snapping a 16-game losing streak between the two programs.
Zell Lassiter PHOTO: Vanderbilt Athletics
In 2024, GoLocal sports columnist Robert McMahon wrote about Lassiter’s journey to the top Division I program:
His athletic skills impressed his San Miguel classmates. Flag football, soccer, basketball—Jamezell could do it all. He was a natural athlete.
But the transformation of Zell, as he likes to be called, happened in the San Miguel classroom.
READ MORE HERE
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