Alec Taylor/John Muggeridge/Mark Higgins: Keep the flat tax

 

Rhode Island stands at an economic crossroads. Our unemployment rate is significantly higher than the rest of the New England, and our state GDP is dropping faster than that of our neighbors. Rhode Island has long been marred by its reputation of having one of the worst economic climates in the nation. Itis having great difficulty competing for new businesses and jobs. Now it’s time for state leaders to give the cure for this situation time to work.

 

In 2006, the General Assembly (led by the efforts of Speaker William Murphy, Majority Leader Gordon Fox and Senate President Teresa Paiva-Weed) and Governor Carcieri got enacted what some have called the most significant tax reform package in the last two decades – the optional flat tax – also known as the regional tax option – and the property-tax cap. Rhode Island received well-deserved national attention for these initiatives.

 

The flat tax/regional tax option gives Rhode Island taxpayers the option to calculate their personal- income tax rates to align with the more favorable rates in neighboring states. This reform makes Rhode Island more taxpayer-friendly. With it, private-sector business leaders can make decisions regarding the location of their facilities on the basis of workforce and real-estate availability, not on the variables of the personal-income-tax structure. With the flat tax, Rhode Island can improve its economic climate and better compete with Massachusetts and Connecticut.

 

The momentum toward a more regionallybalanced tax structure is vital to the long-term prosperity of the state. We urge all Rhode Island legislators to support the continuation of these forward-looking initiatives and to reject the calls to freeze or abandon the flat tax reform.

 

ALEC TAYLOR

JOHN MUGGERIDGE

MARK HIGGINS

 

The writers are, respectively, chief executive of FGXI, vice president for public affairs at Fidelity Investments, and dean of the business school at the University of Rhode Island.

 

This letter is also endorsed by:

Peter Sullivan, Arlen Corporation; Karen Pelczarski, Blish & Cavanagh Attorneys-at-Law ; James Purcell, Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island; Charles Francis, CB Richard Ellis New England; Richard Plotkin, CBIZ Tofias & Mayor Hoffman McCann P.C.; John Galvin, Collette Vacations; Michael Young, Coleman Realtors; George Shuster, Cranston Print Works; Meredith Curren, Edgewood Partners; Christopher Graham, Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge LLP; James Skeffington, Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge LLP; F. Paul Mooney, George H. Fuller & Son Co.; Peter Mezei, Lefkowitz, Garfinkel, Champi & DeRienzo P.C.; Paul Choquette, Gilbane Inc.; Alan Hassenfeld, Hassenfeld Family Initiatives LLC; John Bowen, Johnson & Wales University; Irving Schneider, Johnson & Wales University; Jack Renza, Kahn, Litwin, Renza & Co.; John Cruz, J.C. Electric Inc.; Peter Ottmar, Mercury Print & Mail, Inc.; James Moniz, Moniz Benefits Group, Inc.; David Gilden, Esq., Partridge Snow & Hahn LLP; Tom Gardiner, Point Gammon Corporation/Cornish Associates; James DeRentis, Providence Business Professional; Sandra Parrillo, Providence Mutual Fire Insurance Co.; Dennis Austin, Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems; David Rubin, Attorney-at-Law; Stephen Farrell, UnitedHealthcare, and John Warren, Washington Trust