The bill amends the Rhode Island personal income tax law to address the "marriage penalty tax" by allowing married individuals filing joint returns to receive a credit that offsets the higher tax liability they might incur compared to if they were taxed as single individuals. This change is intended to eliminate the financial disadvantage for married couples under the current tax system. The bill also reaffirms existing tax credits allowed against the tax imposed under this chapter, including credits for earned income, property tax relief, and various other state-specific incentives. It specifies that no other state and federal tax credits shall be available to taxpayers in computing tax liability under this chapter, except as provided in the section mentioned above. The act would take effect upon passage. The bill does not contain and tags, so specific changes to the current law are not identified in the summary. However, it does outline various tax provisions, including the rounding of tax amounts, federal credits applicable prior to January 1, 1996, and the Rhode Island earned-income credit with varying percentages depending on the tax year. It also mandates that the tax administrator recalculate and submit necessary revisions to the general assembly every three years. The bill defines "Rhode Island taxable income," sets out tax rates for different income brackets, provides standard deduction amounts for various filing statuses, and includes an inflation adjustment clause for certain dollar amounts in the tax code.

Statutes affected:
5392: 44-30-2.6