With Rhode Island General Assembly heading into the final stretch of the legislative session, the clash over taxes is intensifying.
A growing progressive presence in the General Assembly points to concentrated income gains among the wealthy in advocating for higher taxes on affluent Rhode Islanders.
And on Monday, the Rhode Island Business Coalition, representing more than 100 businesses, staged a news conference to sound off against a higher state income tax and taxes on PPP loans.
Among the legislative proposals: boosting the top marginal tax rate to 8.9 percent, up to from 5.9 percent, for people who earn more than $475,000 a year.
John Simmons, a spokesman for the coalition, said raising taxes will hurt efforts to improve the state’s economy.
“And to have the tax another four percent or three percent from the high-income earners would be really an anti-business climate,” Simmons said. “Those are the decision makers that make decisions about where companies stay, go or come to. The state would come back in and be one of the highest states in the country in taxation. It’s not worked as well elsewhere. It won’t work well here.”
Progressive groups like Reclaim RI and the Working Families Party have staged recent public events in an effort to build support for their message to raise taxes.
It remains unclear if legislative leaders will support higher taxes, particularly with the state enjoying a better budget outlook than in recent years.
In a joint statement, spokesmen for House Speaker Joe Shekarchi and Senate President Dominick Ruggerio said proposals to raise taxes “are still under review and will be considered as part of the budget process.”
The General Assembly is expected to conclude its current session later this month.
