Rep. Larry Valencia is
charging hard at injustice and promoting progressive values in the General
Assembly.
This Democrat serving
Hopkinton, Exeter, and Richmond voted ‘Yea’ on marriage equality, is a
cosponsor of the marijuana legalization bill, the lead sponsor of the repeal of
Voter ID, cosponsors Rep. Maria Cimini’s Tax Equity bill, and has also
introduced a tax equity bill of his own (H5805)
that would actually bump Rhode Island’s top earners tax rate by 4 percent.
Cimini’s bill (H5374)
calls for a 2 percent bump. Valencia is calling the bill the “Double Cimini.”
Specifically,
Valencia’s bill would raise tax rates on individuals earning over $200,000 and
couples earning over $250,000 by 4 percent. Valencia estimates that the rate
increase would raise an additional $130 million-plus in annual revenue for the
state.
Valencia would like the additional revenues to be put towards creating an Office of Inspector General to improve departmental oversight in the state, shoring up social programs for the developmentally disabled, and relieving some of the burden on those who are on fixed incomes, the elderly, and Rhode Island’s veterans.
At a press conference
on Wednesday, Valencia touted the bill as a way to, “correct the current
imbalance of tax burden that has been place on working families and small
businesses with a fair and modest solution, while also addressing our revenue
crisis.”
In his position on the
House Finance Committee, Valencia is privy to some downright scary fiscal
projections for the state. Some show that the states structural deficit
could balloon to nearly $500 million for fiscal year 2018. “We need some
changes in the revenue side, as well as some judicious cuts in spending.”
“Some of our leaders
have maintained unsustainable tax breaks for the wealthy based on the premise
that it would bring jobs back to Rhode Island. After 15 years and millions of
dollars in tax cuts for the wealthy, our state has one of the highest unemployment
rates in the country,” Ocean State Action’s Kristina Fox offered, “to put it
bluntly: it didn’t work and it is time to try something new.”
The Young Democrats of
Rhode Island are supporting this bill. Alex Morash called income tax reform,
“…vitally important to complete a picture of Rhode Island that works for
everyone. We’re not asking for a handout. We’re asking for a fair shot in an
economy that works for all Rhode Islanders.”
One would think that
local mayors, administrators, and council members would be clamoring to
support this bill, especially in Rhode Island’s most distressed communities,
but bill proponents have yet to approach local legislators for
support. ”I don’t know if we’re at that stage yet. Building support
for legislation like this takes time,” Valencia said. This is the third year
that he has introduced the bill.
“Equal protection from
environmental hazards cannot happen in Rhode Island without tax fairness,” said
Amelia Rose, Director of the Environmental Justice League of RI, “Our
Department of Environmental Management is underfunded and the budget continues
to be cut. This has slowed the remediation of brownfields in urban areas, which
directly affects the quality of life of the predominantly immigrant and
low-income people that live in these areas.”
Local policy
researcher and sometime RI Future contributor, who crunched many of the numbers
in the bill, offered these points. “Opponents of tax equity, what they’re
implicitly saying, is that this problem of appeasing rich people is the biggest
problem that we’re facing today. My question to them is: Are you sure?”
Valencia, not
satisfied with simply increasing revenue, has also introduced legislation that
would create the office of an Inspector General in the state. The office would
provide oversight to all divisions of government in the state, in an effort to
make sure that the investments that we do make are prudent and returns on those
investments are realized.
Dave Fisher is
a writer, chef, musician, political junkie, animal lover, ignorance hater, and
a 2013 mayoral candidate in the city of Woonsocket. He's a lifelong Woonsocket
resident, who lovingly refers to himself as a Woonsocket Rocket and proud Villa
Novan. http://www.facebook.com/DaveFisherForMayor
