On November 4th, Massachusetts will have the opportunity to abolish their income tax.  If question 1 is approved, it would eliminate the state income tax and remove about 40% of the state's revenue, forcing them to spend more wisely.  Could it happen in Rhode Island?  It would certainly be an up hill battle, but according to his remarks today, Governor Carcieri would "love" to abolish the income tax. 

     I have supported eliminating the income tax and moving to a consumption based system for a long time.  If this issue received enough media coverage, I'm fairly certain the majority of Rhode Islanders would agree.  It would be easy to get Republican Senators and Representatives to sign on, but many Democratic members would obviously be reluctant.  That's why there would need to be a unified front to apply pressure to the more moderate members of the House and Senate. 

     I would fully expect a myriad of scare tactics to disuade citizens from supporting the measure.  I would also hope that any future attempts were very well planned, had solid budget numbers worked out, and had a solid coalition of General Assembly members and citizens.  I don't see it happening in the near future, but at some point, it could be done.


http://newsblog.projo.com/2008/10/gov-carcieri-sa.html#421434