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Rhode Island debates raising taxes on the rich – The Boston Globe

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Rhode Island debates raising taxes on the rich – The Boston Globe


On Thursday, a group of progressive lawmakers joined the Working Families Party in announcing a set of four bills, branded the “Fair Share for Rhode Island Package,” that would go beyond McKee’s proposal to generate $650 million in annual revenue by boosting taxes on the wealthy.

Representative Brandon C. Potter, a Cranston Democrat, called McKee’s proposal “a strong step forward,” but said, “It simply does not do enough to meet the needs of working people in Rhode Island right now.”

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Potter emphasized that President Trump’s “One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act” would provide about $1 trillion in federal tax cuts for the richest 1 percent over the next decade while slashing health benefits and food assistance for lower-income Rhode Islanders.

“We need to meet this moment,” Potter said. “In a state controlled by Democrats, we have the opportunity to demonstrate what it means to fight for working people and deliver on our values in the way that this moment calls for.”

Representative Brandon C. Potter, right, a Cranston Democrat, speaks at a State House news conference about a “Fair Share for Rhode Island” package of legislation to boost taxes on the wealthiest Rhode Islanders.Edward Fitzpatrick

The “Fair Share for Rhode Island Package” includes:

A 1 percent tax “wealth tax” on a Rhode Island tax filers who have worldwide financial assets of more than $25 million. That would generate a projected $300 million per year.

Potter and Senator Tiara T. Mack, a Providence Democrat, are sponsoring that legislation, which would apply to financial intangible assets such as stocks, bonds, options, and annuities, and not to the value of houses or other real estate property, or nonfinancial intangible assets such as patents or brand recognition.

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Mack said the tax would affect 1/14th of the state’s richest 1 percent. “And because wealth is so concentrated amongst this very small percentage, this small tax on the richest Rhode Islanders will raise $3 billion over the next 10 years,” she said.

A 3 percent surtax on taxable income of more than $640,000. That would generate a projected $200 million a year.

Representative Karen Alzate, a Pawtucket Democrat, said this is the seventh year that she and Senator Melissa A. Murray, a Woonsocket Democrat, have sponsored the legislation, and in light of Trump administration cuts, she said it’s more crucial than ever.

Alzate said the Massachusetts millionaires tax has provided that state with billions in revenue to improve health care and schools and lure big business such as Hasbro, which is moving its headquarters from Pawtucket to Boston. ”There is no mass exodus,“ she said. ”Just stronger communities.”

A 4 percent “wealth proceeds tax” that would generate a projected $144.4 million per year.

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Representative Teresa A. Tanzi, a South Kingstown Democrat, and Senator Meghan E. Kallman, a Pawtucket Democrat, are sponsoring the legislation, which aims to equalize the tax treatment of earned and unearned income by taxing “passive income” such as capital gains, dividends, interest and annuities, along with certain kinds of rents, royalties and business income. It would not tax income derived from active participation in a business or a retirement income such as Social Security, pensions, 401(k)s and IRAs.

A digital ads tax that would generate an undetermined amount of revenue.

Kallman and Representative Terri Cortvriend, a Portsmouth Democrat, are sponsoring legislation that would tax the revenue of major tech companies, such as Meta and X, that make money from digital advertising. Only businesses with $1 million in annual gross revenue from digital ad services in Rhode Island would be required to file the new digital advertising tax return.

Last year, McKee proposed a 10 percent tax on digital advertising revenues in the state, which would only apply to media companies with more than $1 billion in global revenues.

Apple, Meta, TikTok, and Microsoft hired local lobbyists in Rhode Island to try to kill the proposal, and it was not included in the budget passed by the General Assembly. House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi, a Warwick Democrat, said the proposal was too speculative, noting only Maryland had tried such a tax and it was facing lawsuits.

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The four tax proposals are facing strong opposition from business groups.

Laurie White, president of the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce, criticized the proposals, saying increases in the personal income tax would hurt many small businesses.

Most of the state’s small businesses are organized as pass-through entities, meaning their business profits are taxed under the personal income tax, not a separate corporate tax, White said. Potter disputed the extent of the impact of a tax on income of more than $640,000.

But White said, “For thousands of small businesses, it is a direct tax on their operating income, and it ultimately affects employees through fewer opportunities and slower growth.”

White said the Working Families Party is supporting higher taxes while placing less emphasis “on ensuring accountability and measurable results from government.” For example, Rhode Island spends more per pupil on education than most states, and the outcomes are “mixed,” she said.

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“Higher taxes alone do not necessarily lead to better public services,” White said. “We support the principle of reform before revenue and believe that Rhode Islanders deserve better accountability and quality government services for their tax dollars.”

She said state general revenue spending for fiscal year 2026 will reach $5.81 billion, marking an 11 percent increase in two years and outpacing inflation. “When spending grows at that rate, no narrowly targeted tax hike can meaningfully address the underlying problem,” she said.

White said the proposed digital advertising tax would hurt small businesses that use digital ads to grow their businesses, and raise prices for consumers. “It is also unclear whether or not it is constitutional,” she said.

On Friday, spokesmen for House and Senate leaders responded to the four tax proposals, saying, “When the legislation is introduced, it will undergo the usual thorough and public committee review process for consideration on its merits.”


Edward Fitzpatrick can be reached at edward.fitzpatrick@globe.com. Follow him @FitzProv.

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Hate self-checkout at the grocery store? A RI bill to limit it is back.

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Hate self-checkout at the grocery store? A RI bill to limit it is back.


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  • Rhode Island lawmakers are considering a bill to limit grocery stores to eight self-checkout kiosks.
  • The proposed legislation would also require one employee for every two self-checkout stations.
  • The bill specifically targets grocery stores, which has drawn criticism from business associations.

PROVIDENCE – As lawmakers debate raising Rhode Island’s minimum wage, which would impact many grocery store workers, a bill to limit the number of self-checkout lanes at grocery stores is again stirring conversation.

Rep. Megan Cotter, D-Exeter, Hopkinton, Richmond, introduced a version of her initial bill, proposed in 2023, to reduce the number of self-checkout kiosks a grocery store can have open, and mandate the amount of labor required to operate them. Her bill, H 7290, has eight co-sponsors in the House, while Senate President Valarie Lawson, D-East Providence, introduced a companion bill in the Senate, S 2342.

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When Cotter’s bill was first introduced, it included a mandate that grocers give a 10% discount to customers who used self-checkout for more than 10 items. The newest iteration scraps that language in favor of a more streamlined approach:

  • Grocery stores can have no more than eight self-checkout kiosks operating at one time.
  • One checkout line must be manned for every two self-checkout kiosks.
  • One worker must be assigned to every two self-checkout stations.

Here’s how the math on the self-checkout proposal works:

For a store operating the maximum number of self-checkout kiosks, eight, this means the store would be running four lines with cashiers at a time. That same store would also need four people monitoring the self-checkout stations, for a total of eight workers across 12 cash registers, both manned and unmanned.

Limiting the number of self-checkout aisles a store can have is all about preserving jobs and hours worked, she previously said.

Why stores are using self-checkout

In 2023, Cotter said her original bill was partially a function of her frustration with using the Walmart self-checkout kiosks.

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Problems with self-checkout kiosks abound as each industry, from groceries to pharmacies to hardware to big box stores like Walmart, sets different parameters and triggers on self-checkout machines.

Clements’ Marketplace Operations Director Charles Anthony IV wrote in testimony against Cotter’s bill that the grocery, with locations in Bristol and Portsmouth, installed the self-checkout kiosks to be their “fast lanes.”

“With smaller orders often causing backups across the Front End, the Fast Lanes have helped to maintain a steady pace and take care of our customers more efficiently,” Anthony wrote.

At Target, self-checkout was meant to be limited to people with 10 items or fewer.

Why limit self-checkout?

Cotter’s bill only targets grocery stores. That caught the attention of Rhode Island Food Dealers Association President Scott Bromberg, who submitted testimony against the proposal.

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“This proposal is especially egregious because it specifically targets only grocery stores,” Bromberg wrote. “Big box retailers, along with hardware stores, pharmacies, dollar stores, fast food chains and more utilize self-checkout to allow them to deploy their staff where needed most.”

The bill mostly targets traditional grocery stores, but also hits pharmacies, like CVS and Walgreens, but might not include big box retailers like Walmart and Target.

It defines groceries as:

  • Raw or processed food or drink
  • Prescription and over-the-counter drugs
  • Hygiene items when a store also sells food, drink and “miscellaneous household items” like laundry detergent and dishwasher soap.

A grocery store is defined as a business that gets most of its revenue from selling “groceries.”

Shaw’s and Star Market’s Jim O’Leary wrote that 60% to 65% of its transactions are done via self-checkout systems and 10% are done through its drive-up platform.

“Only approximately 25% of customers utilize traditional staffed registers. This distribution highlights the importance of maintaining adaptive service models to accommodate a broad spectrum of consumer preferences, thereby enhancing the overall shopping experience and most importantly convenience,” O’Leary wrote.

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Which RI stores use self-checkout?

Stores in the state offer a wide variety of takes on self-checkout.

At many Five Below stores, self-checkout is the only option. Home Depot has replaced most checkout lanes at the front of many its stores with self-checkout lanes.

At the discount grocer Aldi, many stores have open self-checkout kiosks. Depending on how slow business is, it can sometimes take a few minutes for a cashier to return to a regular checkout lane, as employees do double duty as cashiers and stockers. Customers are also expected to do their own bagging.

Stop & Shops usually have a variety of self-checkout kiosks and cashiers, but the kiosks practically shout at customers and the scales, meant to prevent theft, often wrongly register item weights, forcing a worker to override the machine after an item is bagged too quickly, or not quickly enough.

Many CVS stores also have the self-checkout kiosks.

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Self-checkouts have also moved into the world of fast food, for example at Taco Bell and McDonald’s, shifting workers away from being cashiers.

Is low-skill labor worth keeping?

The two-self checkout restriction bills are aimed at preserving jobs often classified as entry level or low skill.

The worth and value of those jobs is increasingly under fire by legislators and the business community, especially as the debate over minimum wage increases rages.

Rep. Stephen Casey, D-Woonsocket, made the case during a hearing on March 18 that it would be unfair for the minimum wage to be increased because public sector workers don’t make enough, making an argument that low-skilled labor deserves to be paid less.

“So the average fireman in Rhode Island makes $28.06 an hour, so you’re saying that the guy that’s flipping burgers should make $20 an hour?” Casey asked during the hearing.

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That argument also appeared during the debate over a bill to give health care workers time-and-a-half on Sundays, as Woonsocket resident Jason Romblad said he was “amazed that people selling us a pack of gum will get time-and-a-half on these days, but a health care worker who takes care of us when we are sick and hurt do not get it.”

A separate bill to strip caterers and commissary workers of time-and-a-half on Sundays and holidays was lauded by businesses groups that called for ending the practice entirely. National Federation of Independent Businesses State Director Christopher Carlozzi wrote in support of ending the benefit, claiming that paying minimum wage workers $24 an hour on Sundays instead of the mandated $16 (a $64 pre-tax difference for an eight-hour shift) means the difference between opening a shop on Sundays or leaving it closed.

According to the state’s latest Occupational Employment And Wage Statistics, published in May 2025, cashiers, an estimated 9,710 of them in the state, make a mean average of $15.90 an hour. That climbs to $16.67 an hour for “experienced wage.” The entry wage was $14 an hour, the minimum wage in 2024.

In January, the minimum wage increased to $16 an hour and it increases to $17 an hour on Jan. 1, 2027.

Other large groups of similarly paid professions are fast food and counter workers, 12,650 of them; dining room and cafeteria attendants, 2,720 of them; and dishwashers, 2,830 of them.

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The statistics count an estimated 493,800 employed, making cashiers 2% of the total employment in the state.



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Mashed Names Rhode Island’s Best Buffet Restaurant

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Mashed Names Rhode Island’s Best Buffet Restaurant


CHARLESTOWN, RI — The food website Mashed named Rhode Island’s best buffet restaurant.

Mashed went with The Nordic in Charlestown, despite its prices.

“The Nordic is one of the most expensive buffets in the country, so don’t expect a cheap meal when you sit down at the popular waterside eatery,” the Mashed story said. “The price for adults is $145 per person, $60 for children aged 8 to 12, and $35 for children aged 3 to 7. That sounds pretty steep, but considering that you can fill up on prime rib, a high-quality and costly cut of steak, it seems worth it for a special occasion.

“One of the main draws of dining at The Nordic is that you can chow down on prime rib,” according to Mashed, but there is much, much more, including lobster, snow crab legs, fried scallops, scallops wrapped in bacon and black angus filet mignon.

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See the full Mashed story here.





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Lawmakers seek permanent funding for referral hotlines connecting families to mental health care

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Lawmakers seek permanent funding for referral hotlines connecting families to mental health care


A bill heard by a Rhode Island Senate panel last week would fold funding for telephone hotlines used by pediatricians and family doctors to connect kids and parents to mental health treatment hotlines into a health department program funded by insurer contributions.



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