State Handbook of Economic, Demographic, and Fiscal Indicars 2003 Rhode Island by David Baer PUBLIC POLICY INSTITUTE AARP
Introduction The State Handbook of Economic, Demographic, and Fiscal Indicars 2003 is an easy-use reference book for anyone in search of up--date information about state economic, demographic, and fiscal conditions. Policymakers, public officials, and policy analysts will find useful data on such pics as population, poverty rates, per capita state personal income, state and local revenues, expenditures, tax rates, and property tax relief programs. Gender and age comparisons are provided for some of the data. Throughout the book we used the most current data available. State and national comparisons distinguish this handbook from other reference books - as do the 10-year comparisons and average annual growth rates for a number of important indicars. This handbook facilitates state-by-state and state-national comparisons, which can serve a variety of purposes. For example, a state's tax burden can be compared with the national average or with that of other states in the region. Per capita state personal income, unemployment, and median household income can be used assess how residents in one state fare vis-à-vis those in another. The book is divided in three sections. The first, a state summary section, features a summary description of each state, the District of Columbia, and the entire United States. In addition, summaries of economic, demographic, and fiscal information for the Virgin Islands and Puer Rico are shown. Users interested in a particular state can go directly this section and find information that otherwise would have be assembled from a variety of sources and reference tables. Users will find statistics on several major economic indicars, such as state personal income, median household income, and employment, as well as on population and poverty, distribution of household income, revenues, expenditures, tax rates, and debt ratio measures. We have moved the miscellaneous tax rates information from the section on state and local general revenues the tax section. This allows all tax rate information appear in the same location for each of the state summaries. Moreover, we decided remove effective real property tax rates (reported by the D.C. Government) because those rates could not be verified. We also added personal income, general sales, and miscellaneous tax information for Puer Rico and the Virgin Islands. Furthermore, this book will now be available at http://research.aarp.org/econ/index.html for easy retrieval. 1
The property tax relief portion summarizes homestead exemptions and credits, circuit breakers, and tax deferral programs, all of which are defined in the source notes and explanations section at the end of the book. We did not include all of the state property tax rates, because they can vary within states, and because data on the varying rates are not easily available. Data on state and local general revenues and state and local general expenditures feature per capita and percentage of personal income figures, as well as average annual changes from 1990 2000. Comparisons can be made between each state and the national average of the amounts spent on expenditure programs. State and local debt information is provided on a per capita basis and per $1,000 of personal income. The composition of short-term and long-term debt is also presented. The second section of the handbook provides selected state economic, demographic, and fiscal data in separate tables and maps. This presentation of the data makes it easy compare any or all states and the District of Columbia on such economic indicars as per capita income or gross state product. The tables provide state rankings for easy comparisons. Source notes and explanations can be found in the third section of the handbook, which describes data sources and defines appropriate concepts or terms. Most of the information in the handbook comes from the U.S. Bureau of the Census and from a telephone survey of state and local government offices, such as state legislative offices and state and local assessors offices. Additional sources include the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the District of Columbia Government. As state and local economic conditions and demographic patterns change, policymakers may have adjust their policies on taxes and spending programs. These adjustments become more difficult when economic and demographic changes depart from hisrical trends. It is our belief that this publication will contribute more informed public policy decisions by identifying significant economic, demographic, and fiscal changes. 2
Economic Indicars 1991 2001 Average Annual Change 1991-2001 RI US RI US RI US Per Capita Income... $20,228 $20,023 $30,215 $30,472 4.1% 4.3% Median Household Income... $30,836 $30,126 $45,723 $42,228 4.0% 3.4% Gross State Product (in millions)... $21,758 $5,895,430 $36,939 $10,137,190 5.4% 5.6% Poverty Rate... 10.4% 14.2% 9.6% 11.7% n/a n/a Full and Part-Time Positions (in thousands) 528 138,664 587 167,558 1.1% 1.9% Employed Persons (in thousands)*. 474 118,492 528 136,485 1.1% 1.4% Unemployment Rate*... 9.0% 7.5% 5.1% 5.8% n/a n/a *Employed persons and the unemployment rate data apply 1992 and 2002. Sources: U.S. Bureau of the Census, U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics 2000 Population Under Age 18 6% 5% Males 25% 8% 9% Females 22% Ages 18 64 Ages 65 74 Ages 75 and Over 64% 61% Population Poverty Rate Population and Poverty Percentage Change 1990-1990 2000 2000 1999 RI RI RI US RI US Total Population... 1,003,464 1,048,319 4.5% 13.2% 11.9% 12.4% Males... 481,496 503,635 4.6% 13.9% 10.3% 11.2% Under Age 18... 115,866 127,199 9.8% 13.7% 17.0% 16.4% Ages 18 64... 307,986 316,434 2.7% 13.8% 8.2% 9.6% Ages 65 74... 36,594 32,551-11.0% 4.6% 6.7% 6.6% Ages 75 and Over... 21,050 27,451 30.4% 32.1% 7.9% 7.5% Females... 521,968 544,684 4.4% 12.5% 13.4% 13.5% Under Age 18... 109,824 120,623 9.8% 13.6% 16.8% 16.7% Ages 18 64... 319,241 331,661 3.9% 12.6% 12.3% 12.6% Ages 65 74... 49,022 41,133-16.1% -0.8% 9.9% 10.1% Ages 75 and Over... 43,881 51,267 16.8% 23.3% 15.4% 13.9% Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census 3
Percent Distribution of Households by Age of Householder and Income, 1999 Less than $10,000 $10,000 $14,999 $15,000 $24,999 $25,000 $34,999 $35,000 $49,999 $50,000 $74,999 $75,000 $99,999 $100,000 or more All Households Age of Householder Under 25 years... 25.7% 12.1% 19.8% 17.5% 13.0% 8.2% 2.4% 1.3% 100% 25 34 years... 9.1% 5.2% 12.3% 14.0% 20.3% 23.8% 9.4% 6.0% 100% 35 44 years... 6.7% 4.0% 8.6% 10.8% 17.3% 25.0% 14.2% 13.3% 100% 45 54 years... 5.9% 3.4% 7.1% 9.2% 14.4% 24.6% 15.6% 19.9% 100% 55 64 years... 9.2% 5.0% 9.6% 10.7% 15.4% 21.1% 12.6% 16.4% 100% 65 74 years... 13.4% 10.1% 18.3% 14.1% 15.7% 14.6% 6.1% 7.8% 100% 75 years and over... 21.3% 17.8% 22.4% 12.4% 10.2% 8.3% 3.4% 4.1% 100% Rhode Island (all ages).. 10.7% 7.0% 12.4% 11.9% 15.7% 20.2% 10.7% 11.5% 100% United States (all ages). 9.5% 6.3% 12.8% 12.8% 16.5% 19.5% 10.2% 12.3% 100% Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census Percent of Households by Household Income Bracket, 1999 Percent of Households 25.0% 20.0% 15.0% 10.0% 5.0% 0.0% Less than $10,000 $10,000 $14,999 $15,000 $24,999 $25,000 $34,999 $35,000 $49,999 $50,000 $74,999 $75,000 $99,999 $100,000 or more Rhode Island United States 4
State and Local General Revenues, FY 2000 Rhode Island Average Annual Revenue Change 1990-2000 General Revenues Per Capita Percent of Personal Income (millions) RI US RI US RI US Total General Revenues... $5,748 $5,483 $5,477 20.0% 19.8% 5.3% 6.1% Own Sources... $4,551 $4,341 $4,440 15.8% 16.1% 5.3% 5.8% Taxes... $3,412 $3,255 $3,100 11.9% 11.2% 5.3% 5.7% Property Taxes... $1,360 $1,297 $885 4.7% 3.2% 5.3% 4.8% General Sales Taxes... $621 $592 $764 2.2% 2.8% 4.6% 5.9% Personal Income Taxes. $829 $791 $752 2.9% 2.7% 6.9% 7.2% Other Taxes... $603 $575 $698 2.1% 2.5% 3.9% 5.1% Charges/Miscellaneous... $1,139 $1,086 $1,340 4.0% 4.8% 5.5% 6.0% Federal Aid... $1,196 $1,141 $1,037 4.2% 3.8% 5.1% 7.9% Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census. 1990 General Revenue 2000 General Revenue Property Taxes General Sales Taxes Personal Income Taxes Other Taxes 21% 24% 21% 24% Charges/Misc 19% 12% 20% 11% Federal Aid 12% 12% 10% 14% 5
I. Personal Income Tax Rate Structure 25.0% of federal income tax liability Public and Private Pension Exemptions... None Social Security Benefits Only taxpayers whose provisional income* is $25,000 or higher (single) or $32,000 or higher (married, filing jointly) are subject taxation of their Social Security benefits. *Provisional income consists of federal adjusted gross income, tax-exempt interest, certain foreign-source income, and one-half of the taxpayer s Social Security or Railroad Retirement Tier 1 benefit (U.S. House Committee on the Budget, Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993, 103 rd Congress, 1 st sess., 1993, Conference Report 103-213, p. 594). Standard Deductions and Personal Exemptions Combined* Under age 65*... $7,700 (single); $13,850 (married, filing jointly) Age 65 or older*... $8,850 (single); $15,650 (married, filing jointly, where both spouses are age 65 or older) *Personal exemptions equal $3,000 per exemption (single have one exemption and married couples have two). Taxpayers with federal adjusted gross income greater than $137,300 (single) or $206,000 (married, filing jointly) receive lower personal exemption amounts. Local Income Taxes... None II. General Sales Tax Rates State... 7.0% Combined state/local tax rates... 7.0% Sources: AARP 2002 telephone survey of state legislative staff, state departments of revenue, state controllers offices, state assessors offices, and state treasury offices. 6
III. Miscellaneous Tax Rates Corporate income (highest marginal rate)... 9.0% Gasoline (per gallon)... $0.28 Cigarette (per pack of 20)... $1.32 Beer (per gallon)... $0.097 All taxable income Plus a 7% sales tax IV. Real Property Tax Relief Programs Homestead Exemption or Credit* Requirements Benefits Veterans... $1,000 assessed value Blind... $18,000 assessed value *NOTE: Some localities may provide other forms of homestead exemptions. Circuit Breaker* Eligibility... Homeowners and renters age 65 or older, or recipients of Social Security Disability Income payments Income ceiling... $30,000 Maximum benefit... $250 tax credit *If sufficient state monies are available, homeowners and renters under age 65 can also apply receive full or partial credit after June 30. Deferral Program... None V. Real Property Tax Limits, Caps, or Freezes Local taxing districts cannot annually increase local property tax revenues by more than 5.5 percent. Exceptions this limit include various special emergency situations, increases in bonded indebtedness, and losses in non-property tax revenues. Sources: AARP 2002 telephone survey of state legislative staff, state departments of revenue, state controllers offices, state assessors offices, and state treasury offices. 7
State and Local General Expenditures, FY 2000 General Expenditures Average Annual Expenditure Change 1990-2000 Percent of Personal Per Capita Income (millions) RI US RI US RI US State/Local Direct General Expends... $5,586 $5,329 $5,354 19.4% 19.4% 4.2% 6.1% To State/Local Government... $5,560 $5,304 $5,340 19.3% 19.3% 4.2% 6.1% Education*... $1,857 $1,771 $1,853 6.5% 6.7% 4.5% 6.1% Public Welfare... $1,144 $1,091 $829 4.0% 3.0% 7.8% 8.1% Health and Hospitals... $278 $265 $452 1.0% 1.6% 0.7% 5.5% Highways... $286 $273 $360 1.0% 1.3% 1.3% 5.2% Public Safety*... $537 $512 $490 1.9% 1.8% 5.2% 6.4% Environment... $252 $240 $322 0.9% 1.2% 1.4% 5.1% Interest on General Debt... $335 $319 $248 1.2% 0.9% 0.9% 3.4% Other... $873 $833 $785 3.0% 2.8% 4.1% 6.2% To Federal Government... $26 $25 $14 0.1% 0.1% 8.4% 2.2% *Education includes higher and lower education; public safety includes police, fire, corrections, and protection and inspection. Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census State and Local General Expenditures, FY 2000 (excluding payments federal government) 16% Education Public Welfare 6% 5% 32% Health and Hospitals Highways Public Safety 10% Environment Interest on General Debt 5% 5% 21% Other Total Debt Outstanding Long-term Debt Short-term Debt 2000 Debt Ratio Measures Per $1,000 Debt (billions) Per Capita of Personal Income Debt (billions) Percent of Total Debt (billions) Percent of Total Rhode Island (State and Local)... $6.9 $6,561 $239 $6.8 99.2% $0.05 0.8% United States... $1,451.8 $5,159 $187 $1,427.5 98.3% $24.29 1.7% Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census 8