By Sam Wroblewski 630wpro.com

Rhode Island now ranks as one of the top states for placing a large tax burden on the poor, according to the Economic Progress Institute.

In a joint study, the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy and the Economic Progress Institute states that Rhode Island ranks fifth worst in the nation due to collecting 12.5% of state taxes from workers making less than $19,000 a year; the largest cut of all economic groups. The Ocean State moved down in rank from ninth place two years ago.

“Rhode Island’s tax structure is really fundamentally unfair,” said Kate Brewster Executive Director of the Economic Progress Institute.

“It asks the lowest income tax payers to pay nearly twice as much as their income towards state and local taxes as the wealthiest one percent.”

The study examined individual state’s sales, income, and property taxes to assess their impact on local taxpayers. Taken together, Brewster says the Rhode Island asks more from its low-income workers placing it within the top ten worst states.

In contrast, neighboring states Massachusetts and Connecticut are not even in the top ten worst states, with only 10.4% and 10.5% of their taxes being collected from low-income individuals respectively.

Brewster says it’s Rhode Island’s tax structure that needs to be addressed in order to remedy the unfair tax burden.

“Increas[e] the state’s earned income tax credit, the refund available through that would be a very important step this year to providing more balance to our state’s tax structure,” said Brewster.

“We know that when low-income workers are able to keep more money in their pockets through State and Federal earned income tax credits, they are spending that money on local businesses and retailers right here in Rhode Island.”