PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- To cut or raise state taxes: which is better for Rhode Island's struggling economy?
The debate began anew Thursday with the formal filing by a group of House Democrats, led by Rep. Maria Cimini, D-Providence, of a labor-backed bill to raise the income tax rate for Rhode Island's wealthiest taxpayers.
The legislation would raise the top income tax rate paid by households making more than $250,000 a year from 5.99 percent to 7.99 percent, to generate an estimated $69.2 million in new revenue for the state.
Cimini says she introduced the legislation because "we are continually facing deficits...structural deficits... and I believe we have cut most everywhere we can and still fulfill the obligations that a government has...At some point we need to look to revenues.''
House Speaker Gordon D. Fox is among those saying: "Convince me.''
"If you raise taxes, does it slow down the economy?'' Fox said in an interview this week.
Governor Chafee has proposed an alternative - cutting the state's corporate income tax - in hopes of jump starting the economy in the state with the highest unemployment rate.