Libertarian Group Praises Carcieri for Tax Cuts
Thursday, September 30, 2010
The Cato Institute, a leading libertarian think tank, has given Gov. Don Carcieri high marks in its annual report on state governors and their fiscal records.
The report describes Carcieri as an “impressive tax reformer” with a “good spending record,” giving him the sixth highest score in the country—the best of the East Coast governors. Cato singled out Carcieri for the tax cuts he proposed and the General Assembly passed in the last session. (Click here to read the report.)
“The best tax reform enacted in recent years was pushed through by Governor Carcieri of Rhode Island in 2010,” the report states. “He signed off on a package that cut the state’s top personal income tax rate from 9.90 percent to 5.99 percent, reduced the number of tax brackets from five to three, raised the standard deduction, and reduced the number of special interest tax breaks.”
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“When I took office nearly eight years ago, I outlined a very aggressive agenda to set Rhode Island on a clear course to reduce state spending, reform our tax system, and make Rhode Island more competitive,” Carcieri said. “We have made great strides. We have reduced the size of state government by over 2,000 employees since 2003, implemented significant pension reform and instituted higher health insurance co-shares for state employees, we rooted out government waste, consolidated state functions and instituted new purchasing standards. All told, these policies have saved the taxpayers hundreds of millions annually.”
