By ETHAN HARTLEY Rhode Island has the 4th highest tax burden of all other states (plus the District of Columbia), according to the 2018 Tax Rates by State report published by financial and analytical research company WalletHub. The study looked at tax
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Rhode Island has the 4th highest tax burden of all other states (plus the District of Columbia), according to the 2018 Tax Rates by State report published by financial and analytical research company WalletHub.
The study looked at tax rates for real estate, vehicle property, income and sales & excise taxes and created a ranking based on the overall tax burden levied on the respective states’ population.
Rhode Island ranked 47th overall in effective total state and local tax rates for a median U.S. household, with an overall 13.69 tax percentage paid by residents, equating to about $8,697 in local and state taxes paid by the average household family every year. When adjusted to compensate for the cost of living index, Rhode Island actually ranked 48th out of 51 in terms of most expensive tax rates in the country. The only states more expensive in taxes than Rhode Island were Connecticut, New York and Hawaii.
According to the report, Rhode Island’s tax rates were 27.26 percent higher than the nation’s average, and the state also has the second highest tax rate on cigarette sales, only behind Connecticut and New York (tied for highest).
Despite House Speaker Rep. Nicholas Mattiello’s pledge to remove the state’s car tax over the course of a few years, the state was recorded as still having the highest vehicle tax in the country, with the average household paying approximately $1,144 just for car taxes. The next highest rate was in Virginia, where the average household paid about $971 in vehicle tax. About half the country has no vehicle tax (23 states plus D.C.).
Rhode Island also ranked poorly in real estate taxes, as the average household will pay a rate of about 5.46 percent for real estate, equating to about $3,047 annually. This ranked 41st out of 51. New Jersey, Illinois, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Wisconsin, Texas, Nebraska, Vermont, Michigan and New York had hire real estate tax rates.
Income tax and sales and excise taxes in Rhode Island were less severe, ranking 20th out of 50 and 21st out of 50 with a 2.3 percent income tax equating to about $1,282 per year and a 3.88 percent rate equating to $2,162 per year respectively. Washington, by comparison, has no vehicle tax or income tax but the average household pays about $4,552 in sales and excise tax (the highest such rate in the country).
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RISchadenfreude
High taxes, stingy salaries, high cost of living, low standard of living, actual taxpayers watching their hard-earned money disappear into the black hole known as the General Fund and redistributed to people who have done nothing to earn it...I wonder why there's been a general exodus from RI for the last 15 years?
Friday, April 6, 2018 Report this
JohnStark
RI is in a death spiral with no answers. The state will not reduce or eliminate certain taxes unless there is a change in party affiliation at leadership levels. And that will not happen unless there is a change in taxation because Dems need the revenue to retain a bloated state government, as employees and their families eagerly vote for more of the same. Thus, a Catch 22 death spiral. Those with the means have left the state. Many others want to. It's a serious problem, and NOT ONE member of the GA or administration has a word to say about it.
Friday, April 13, 2018 Report this