On Monday, October 5, 2009, RIPEC released its annual report: “How Rhode Island Revenues Compare”, which provides details on state and local government revenue sources for fiscal year 2007, the latest year for which national data are available. The publication compares Rhode Island’s fiscal system with those of the other 49 states and the United States average. The US Census Bureau released the data on September 30, 2009.

Rhode Island continues to have one of the highest tax burdens in the country, ranking 15th highest on a per $1,000 of personal income basis in FY 2007. By comparison, Connecticut ranked 21st and Massachusetts ranked 37th. However, Rhode Island’s FY 2007 ranking represents an improvement over FY 2006 when the State total tax burden was the 10th highest in the country. As in previous years, the high property tax burden is the primary driver behind the state’s ranking; in FY 2007, Rhode Island’s property tax collections as a percent of personal income ranked the state 5th highest in the country and accounted for over 40 percent of all taxes collected in the state.