Editorials

Flat tax II
Tax breaks for the wealthy will always be a hard sell. Particularly in a working class state that has long supported union workers. But James Skeffington’s proposal to enact a flat tax for Rhode Islanders earning an annual income of more than $175,000 makes sense, just as it made sense a couple of weeks ago when Skeffington tied the tax breaks to the creation of 2,500 new quality jobs in Rhode Island.

When that proposal drew a cool response from some legislators and community leaders, Skeffington went back to the drawing board. Now his proposal carries with it the promise of 7,500 jobs. Fortunately, a group of the General Assembly’s leading legislators – including Senate Majority Leader Paul S. Kelly, House Speaker John B. Harwood, House Majority Leader Gerard M. Martineau and Sen. William V. Irons – are backing Skeffington’s proposal. They point out, correctly, that Rhode can not turn its back on 7,500 new jobs.

It would be nice if the Fleets and Fidelity Investments of the world didn’t need tax breaks as an incentive to expand their operations and increase their employment numbers here, rather than someplace else. But it would also be unrealistic.

It would be nice if Massachusetts didn’t turn up the pressure as it has, by enacting a flat tax of its own. But the Bay State presents us with stiff competition for jobs.

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We have shown time and time again that we are up to the competition. Largely through legislative efforts, our business climate has improved. Look no further than the Fidelity complex in Smithfield, or the massive expansion of CVS headquarters in Woonsocket.

This tax break doesn’t just benefit the wealthy. It benefits Rhode Island’s working class. It benefits the Rhode Island economy.

Telecommunications
Victor Colantonio is the president and founder of NorthEast Optic Network, Inc., a Waltham, Mass.-based company that builds, owns and operates fiber optic communication networks.

It’s a cutting edge business. In fact, says Colantonio, in terms of technological advances, fiber optics are the equivalent of landing a man on the moon.

But Colantonio is quick to point out that the technological advances have not been equaled by regulatory advances. And in fact, he says, the New England region is in desperate need of a detailed telecommunications policy.

“Rhode Island and the rest of New England need a policy on telecommunications or we will be left aside in this Information Age,” says Colantonio. “A lot of petty differences can prevent our community – the New England community – from emerging and taking its proper place on the world stage.”

Colantonio’s main point is that the New England region has a telecommunication system that is subject to individual states’ rules and regulations. There is a parochialism in place that seems to hinder the development of a multi-state telecommunications policy.

“We’ve got all kinds of different rules and regulations for cable television, which is attempting today to become Internet companies and telephone companies,” says Colantonio. “We’ve got telephone companies regulated by state departments of utilities that are attempting to become Internet companies and cable companies.”

It won’t be easy, but it seems to us that Colantonio is raising a valid point. The millennium is upon us. Perhaps, as Colantonio suggests, the New England Governor’s Council should put the issue on its agenda.

 

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