Raimondo mulling corporate tax freeze for R.I. manufacturers

PROVIDENCE — State leaders on Thursday floated the idea of freezing corporate taxes for Rhode Island manufacturers, at a dollar amount, for the next 10 years — one of a number of options Gov. Gina Raimondo’s administration is exploring to shore up Rhode Island’s still-dwindling manufacturing industry.

Commerce Secretary Stefan Pryor told manufacturing executives from large and small companies that it’s merely a “discussion point” now, and it’s not clear yet whether such an idea would be “worth the investment of time and money it would require.” Nevertheless, he sought feedback from nearly two dozen manufacturers and representatives in the industry who gathered for the first meeting of the newly appointed Governor’s Manufacturing Advisory Council.

Reginald Ross, a research manager for Jones Lang Lasalle who’s analyzing some data on the topic for the Rhode Island Commerce Corporation, told the council that preliminary models suggest such a freeze could save a manufacturer $300,000 over a decade.

Pryor posed questions to the group:

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