Democratic gubernatorial candidate Helena Foulkes called for state leaders to give most Rhode Islanders a $500 tax cut to help offset rising prices.
Foulkes, a former CVS Health executive who is challenging Gov. Dan McKee, urged him to use part of the state’s massive $618 million projected budget surplus to offer the tax cut to all Rhode Islanders making less than $100,000.
“Our state is seeing an unprecedented surplus, but Rhode Islanders’ budgets are tighter than ever,” Foulkes said in a statement.
The Foulkes campaign estimated more than 400,000 households would benefit from the tax cut, and pegged its cost at about $200 million.
“Everyday I talk to hardworking Rhode Islanders who feel like they’re being priced out of our state, and inflation has only made their lives more difficult,” she said. “As governor, I will work to lower the cost of living in our state, but we also need to give families relief — now.”
Audrey Lucas, a spokesperson for Foulkes, said any individual making less than $100,000 would qualify under her proposal, meaning a two-income household where both workers earn less than that threshold would get a $1,000 tax cut.
Rhode Island’s state government finished the last fiscal year, which ended June 30, with a far bigger surplus than usual due to generous federal reimbursement for costs tied to COVID as well as an uptick in revenue due to the economic recovery.
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