Rhode Island Estate Tax Action Alert

Dear RI supporter of United for a Fair Economy,

We are passing on an alert from our partner in RI, Ocean State Action, which is a member of UFE’s Tax Fairness Organizing Collaborative.  Please reply to Dan Bass at 401-463-5368 or danoceanstateaction.org

Governor Carcieri's budget has several disastrous proposals that would vastly lower taxes for the wealthiest Rhode Island tax filers and large corporations at the expense of working and middle-income Rhode Islanders.  We need your help on Tuesday May 19th and/or Thursday May 21st to defeat the three most harmful and regressive of the Governor's proposals in his FY2010 state budget.  These proposals would:

• Lower the estate tax by raising the exemption on estates from $675,000 to $1 million, and setting a dangerous precedent to move towards the potential elimination of the estate tax in its entirety (Article 36)

• Phase out the corporate income tax in its entirety, which would mostly benefit the largest 50 corporations operating in Rhode Island (Article 37)

• Flatten the personal income tax rates to benefit mostly the highest income tax filers in Rhode Island (Article 38)

The House Finance Committee will hold a hearing on these proposals on Thursday May 21 starting at 1:00 pm.  It is essential that Rhode Islanders make their voices heard against these regressive proposals that would deepen the state's economic crisis and would have dreadful repercussions for our communities, our schools, health care, public services and safety, child care, nursing homes, and so much more. 

That's why we need Rhode Islanders to come to the State House on May 21 to testify against any or all of these proposals, and/or to provide written testimony against them.  The Chamber of Commerce will come out in force to testify in support of these regressive proposals, so we need a strong presence to stand up against Big Business.

Please contact Dan Bass at 401-463-5368 or danoceanstateaction.org to let us know if you will be able to testify or provide written testimony, or if you have questions or need assistance. 

In these tough economic times, the last thing the state should do is lower taxes for the wealthiest and large corporations, and cut spending and investments in our communities, schools and social services.  The estate tax, the corporate tax, and a strongly progressive personal income tax are essential to tax fairness and allowing us to make the investments we need for strong and healthy communities. 

Also, the Senate Finance Committee will be hearing testimony on the same proposals on Tuesday May 19th at 2:00 pm.  Please contact Dan Bass to let us know if you can testify at that time.

Please call or email your State Representative and Senator to urge them to oppose the Governor's reckless proposals to cut taxes for the wealthiest and large corporations.  You can find out who your State Rep and Senator are here and their contact information here. 

If you would like to write a letter to the editor in support of any of these bills, please contact Dan for more information.

Please forward this alert to people you know and post it on Facebook and other networking sites.

Thanks for taking action to promote a fair economy,

Lee Farris
Senior Organizer on Estate Tax Policy
United for a Fair Economy
617-423-2148 x133
lfarrisfaireconomy.org