Tax Foundation: R.I. second-highest statewide sales tax in U.S.

THE TAX FOUNDATION said Louisiana leads the nation with the highest combined state and average local sales tax rate at 9.98 percent. / COURTESY TAX FOUNDATION
THE TAX FOUNDATION said Louisiana leads the nation with the highest combined state and average local sales tax rate at 9.98 percent. / COURTESY TAX FOUNDATION

PROVIDENCE – Rhode Island tied with three other states for the second-highest statewide sales tax rate in the nation at 7 percent, according to a report released this week by the Tax Foundation, an independent tax policy research organization.

The only state with a higher statewide sales tax rate is California at 7.25 percent. Rhode Island tied with Indiana, Mississippi and Tennessee at 7 percent.

Massachusetts ranked 13th for its statewide sales tax of 6.25 percent.

Five states do not have statewide sales taxes: Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire and Oregon. Of these, Alaska and Montana allow localities to charge local sales taxes, the Tax Foundation said.

- Advertisement -

The lowest non-zero, state-level sales tax is in Colorado, with a rate of 2.9 percent. Five states followed with 4 percent rates: Alabama, Georgia, Hawaii, New York and Wyoming.

When combining state and local taxes, Louisiana leads the nation at 9.98 percent, while Rhode Island ranks 21st at 7 percent (since no local jurisdiction charges a sales tax). Massachusetts was 35th on this list at 6.25 percent. Alaska has the lowest combined rate at 1.76 percent. Maine has the fifth lowest combined rate at 5.5 percent.

No posts to display

1 COMMENT

  1. No surprises here!

    As I also posted on my FaceBook page…now that Rogues Island is collecting sales tax from Amazon, and where in RI shipping costs are also subject to our full sales tax, I wouldn’t be surprised if our brilliant boys and girls in Providence don’t come up with a way, a plan, to further Rip-Off Rogues Island’s taxpayers, by collecting sales tax on Amazon’s FREE SHIPPING, They accomplishing that by demanding sales tax be paid on what the shipping would have cost…had the item not been shipped for free!!!