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May 5, 2008

R.I. sales and income tax receipts are down sharply

PROVIDENCE –– The state’s largest revenue sources –– income and sales taxes –– are down sharply through the first 10 months of the fiscal year.

This is a further sign that Rhode Island’s fiscal problems are mounting as lawmakers struggle to shape a balanced budget facing the largest deficit in nearly two decades.

Economists reported last week that Rhode Island is one of nine states experiencing an economic recession. State Tax Administrator David M. Sullivan supplied data today detailing the effect of widespread job losses, stagnant wages and weak consumer confidence.

Sales taxes are down $23 million, or 3.1 percent, compared to the same period last year, Sullivan reports, while income taxes are down $9 million, or 1 percent.

Should the trend continue through the next two months, as expected, it would be the first time that the state’s largest two revenue sources collectively fell since the early 1990s.

“As far as I’m concerned we’re in a recession,” Governor Carcieri said in an interview today with the radio station WSAR, 1400 AM.

Posted by Peter Phipps  at 3:54 PM | Permalink

Comments

Even if we could print the money, the budget is to much. People cannot afford to pay RI. public employes those kind of wages , pentions and benifits, as we cannot pay our basic bills.
Fire everyone and start from scratch put all jobs out for bid as you will find 3 employes for the price of one. No overtime and you can get 2 employes for the price of one. Cut the pentions in half and add 2 employes. This way you get the work done with more help for less money.
We need workers that get something done not high priced assistance to another assistance to pass the buck down the chain of irrasponsability getting fat on taxpayers credit cards. They can have a large number of employes doing nothing to pass the word as what has to be done to one or two lower paid emploeys with so much paper work and no accountability. we as tax payers are paying more for that paper work and all those people than what it cost to do the job. It's like a tornado spinning around faster and faster always gaining speed costing us more and more with no end in sight sucking up everything of ours as to make us work harder to keep this fiasco running. We have no choice and if we stay this course of disaster, we won't have any money to pay those high priced fat guys who don't do anything anyway.
When you wounder why you cannot pay your own bills and the State cannot pay their own budget well this is one reason why. For 100 grand we can hire 10 mexicans with no benifits and things would really get done right and efficient really cheap.
No double dipping, one State pention and one State or public job is all you get and your not eligible to be hired for any other public service job as others need to make a living so pig out in the private sector. The Court system is another major source of bleeding us dry as a judge with only one year on the bench can retire with 100% of their benefits and salery for life? Who made those rules?No wounder they want to make more laws and harsher mandatory sentences, they have no choice. They have the tax payers credit card that pays for all those citizens who are charged with anything for proscesing and that is millions of dollars, that you and I pay for. Then those same taxpayers who need to hire lawyers which they cannot afford get hit with heavy fines and penalties or have to pay exsesive bail they cannot afford so they get shipped of to the ACI to await some trial down the line in the futuer, this cost us taxpayers a fortune. To make things wourst the millions taken in by the State by these so called criminals, goes to the State and none of that money goes back to those taxepayers who payed those bills for prossing all those citizen that went through that corrupt justice system. To make you feel even wourst than that, how many of these high priced Judges have investments in private prisons? No wounder evryone is presumed guilty and now how long is this going to go on?

Edgar Goulet | May 11, 2008 7:57 AM link

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