Welcome to The Poverty Institute
CURRENT ISSUES
ISSUE BRIEF: TAX TOPICS FOR 2010
Rhode Islanders understand that we make a collective investment in a safe, prosperous state by setting aside a portion of our income to pay for the kinds of public structures and services that enhance the quality of life for all of us. Due to the national economic recession, however, state revenues have plummeted, leaving us without the resources we need to support these essential public systems and structures.
In order to get Rhode Islanders back on their feet, and to ensure that our businesses and our communities have the resources they need, we must take a balanced approach to solving our budget problems. That means not only looking at how to be more mindful about our spending, but also looking at ways in which we can make our tax system more sustainable for the long-term. This issue brief covers several state tax policy issues and recommendations that would improve the accountability, adequacy, and equity of our tax structure.
Click here to read the issue brief
PRESS STATEMENT: REGARDING THE 2010 TAX CREDIT AND INCENTIVE REPORT
This year's Tax Credit and Incentive Report, published by the Division of Taxation, shows that Rhode Island's revenues were reduced by close to $40 million due to five tax credits that 59 unique companies took advantage of during Fiscal Year 2010. This is the third time the cost of these tax expenditures has been reported. Unfortunately, the second part of the report, providing critical information about the jobs, wages and benefits produced as a result of the credits has never been reported as required by law. In difficult times like this, it is imperative that we are getting the biggest bang for our collective bucks. By depleting our resources on untested tax credits and incentives we are missing opportunities to invest in proven econo9mic development strategies like education and infrastructure.
Click here to read the report from the RI Division of Taxation
REPORT RELEASE: PRIORITIZING APPROACHES TO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN NEW ENGLAND: SKILLS, INFRASTRUCTURE AND TAX INCENTIVES
A new report by Jeffrey Thompson of the Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) at the University of Massachusetts, documents how investments in our current and future workforce, and the infrastructure that businesses and communities rely on, generate greater returns than tax credits and giveaways. Thompson is a research economist based at PERI and funded in part by The Poverty Institute.
Click here to read the brief
Click here to read the full report
Click here to read the Providence Journal article on this report
CHART: EARNINGS FROM JOBS NOW RI IMPACT RECEIPT OF PUBLIC BENEFITS
The Poverty Institute has received a number of inquiries regarding the impact that earnings from the Jobs Now RI program will have on a family's or individual's receipt of public benefits. Jobs Now RI participants are paid wages just like other employees. Thus, earnings are treated the same as regular wages for public benefit purposes - which depends on whether it is the adult or child who is the earner. Visit our homepage to find the chart that summarizes how income is treated in the RI Works, SNAP, RIte Care and Child Care Assistance program.
LATEST NEWS
MEDIA: R.I. gave $40M in tax breaks; job gain unclear (Providence Journal, 8.18.10)
...said Brewster, the institute’s executive director. “By depleting our resources on untested tax credits and incentives we are missing opportunities to invest in proven economic development strategies like education and infrastructure.
MEDIA: Companies collected $39.7 million in R.I. state tax credits in fiscal year 2010 (Providence Business News, 8.17.10)
The Poverty Institute of Rhode Island released a statement Monday evening that assailed the state for spending money on credits. “In difficult times like this, it is imperative that we are getting the biggest bang for our collective bucks,” Executive Director Kate Brewster said.
MEDIA: RI business tax credit report fails to show impact on jobs (Providence Journal, 8.17.10)
The state gave nearly $40 million in tax breaks to Rhode Island businesses during the last fiscal year, according to a report released late Monday by the state Division of Taxation, but still has yet to detail whether those companies have achieved the goals for which the tax breaks were intended.
MEDIA: CVS got half of RI's tax credits in '10 (WPRI TV, 8.17.10)
CVS Caremark Corp. received more than half of the $40 million in business tax breaks that the state handed out in the fiscal year that ended June 30, the state disclosed on Monday.
FREQUENTLY USED DOCUMENTS
2008 Rhode Island Standard of Need (12.08)
Every two years, The Poverty Institute publishes The Rhode Island Standard of Need (RISN) to provide a realistic standard for measuring the economic well-being of families and single adults. The RISN answers two fundamental questions:
• What is the cost of meeting basic needs for a single parent family, two-parent family, and a single adult in Rhode Island
• How do state and federal work supports help individuals and families meet the cost of basic needs?
Click here for the full report, executive summary, charts and media coverage for the 2008 RISN
