House Rejects Rep. Guthrie Budget Amendment

Rep. Scott Guthrie (D-Dist. 28, Coventry) said he was not surprised but nonetheless disappointed that the House of Representatives refused to take up a budget amendment he proposed to inject about $65 million more into state funding for cities and towns.

The House of Representatives on Thursday was deliberating the $8.1-billion Fiscal Year 2013 budget, 2012-H 7323A. A vote on the bill was expected sometime early Friday morning.

The amendment introduced by Representative Guthrie called for a 2 percent income tax increase on all Rhode Islanders with income over $250,000. The resulting $65 million in tax revenue, under the Guthrie amendment, would have been used to increase aid to cities and towns, specifically restoring general revenue sharing funds to levels last seen in 2007.

The current budget, again this year, provides no general revenue sharing funds, although there is state aid to communities in other areas – schools, libraries, distressed communities, etc.

“Each year, as the economy remains stagnant, we pass a state budget that acknowledges the need for austerity measures. But we always pass those austerity measures down to our cities and towns, which have been struggling for years,” said Representative Guthrie. “And as much as our cities and towns try to make do with less, the end result is most often a local tax hike.”

“If there is to be shared sacrifice to help our whole state through this economic mess, then those who are most able to pay should be willing to do a little more for a little while,” he said. “A two percent tax hike on those making more than a quarter-million dollars may not be easy or welcome, but it is a lot easier for them then it is for the people who are less well off – elderly homeowners, recipients of essential state services, young couples still just dreaming about buying a home, and every local property taxpayer shuddering at the thought of another increase.”

The Guthrie amendment would have provided $1,014,646 for Coventry from the $65 million in additional funds that would have been generated through the 2 percent income tax hike for upper-level earners.