Ah, Tax Foundation lists. If there were not so much a ring of truth to its many-times-a-year browbeating of the Ocean State, we would be tempted to toss the reports in the digital trash and go have some stuffies. But we know better.
The nonpartisan think tank’s latest State Business Tax Climate Index puts Rhode Island at No. 45, or put another way, sixth-worst among the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Driving the ranking are poor marks for “unemployment insurance tax structure,” “property tax structure” and “corporate tax structure.” Two other ranked aspects of the state’s tax regime – “individual income tax structure” and “sales tax structure” – were not so poorly graded, but neither made it past the midpoint among the states.
The General Assembly seems to come up with a new response every year to Rhode Island’s poor rankings, but despite some recent changes – the reformed estate tax and corporate income tax come to mind – the needle is not moving.
Perhaps we should start with what the Tax Foundation says it rewards, not just to improve on the list, but to actually make a difference in how the state goes about its business.
“States are punished for overly complex, burdensome and economically harmful tax codes but are rewarded for transparent and neutral tax codes that do not distort business decisions,” the foundation said.
So when the next legislative session begins, how about hitting the ground running and making the state’s tax regime simpler, and while we’re at it, add reforming regulations to the list. •