Smiley Announces Opposition to Ticket Tax

Smiley Announces Opposition to Ticket Tax

After dozens of arts, tourism, labor, and business leaders voiced their opposition to Representative Rebecca Kislak’s ticket tax, Providence Mayor Brett Smiley announced his opposition to the proposed legislation on Friday.

The legislation was submitted at the request of the Providence City Council.

“We appreciate the intent of the legislation’s sponsors in exploring new strategies to diversify the city's revenue sources so that we are not relying solely on property taxes. However, we have heard from community members, stakeholders, artists and local vendors that this approach could lead to significant unintended negative impacts on our art, culture, sports and entertainment community,” said Josh Estrella, spokesman for Smiley in an email to GoLocal.

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“The Smiley Administration is instead pursuing and prioritizing the parking tax legislation we proposed, which would apply a parking tax on visitors who consume services in our city without directly impacting our sport and entertainment venues,” added Estrella.

As GoLocal unveiled on Tuesday, enabling legislation proposed by Kislak, would place a tax on any event held in a venue that has a capacity of 800 regardless of the attendance or the cost of the event. Free ticketed events and charities would be forced to pay the tax.

Kristen Adamo, the CEO of the Providence Warwick Convention and Visitors Bureau, wrote in a letter to House Finance Chair Marvin Abney, “This bill’s implications could stretch far beyond leisure tourism – it also poses a threat to the booming sports industry in Rhode Island. Events booked by the Rhode Island Sports Commission, a division of the PWCVB, generated more than $44 million in direct spend in the last fiscal year alone. For example, the Providence/Warwick area benefited immensely from hosting the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament in March, a highly sought-after bid that another city could easily win if additional taxes discourage ticket sales or cause the league to consider a more tax-friendly venue.”

Chris Vilardi, President of Local IATSE 23, Stagehand Union, warns that the legislation is a job killer.

The executive director of the Rhode Island Philharmonic, David Beauchesne, warns that this legislation will adversely impact not only his organization but also a wide range of small businesses.

"No other state in our region imposes such a tax on ticket sales, and with good reason: this tax would deter audience members from purchasing tickets and touring artists from using venues like The VETS, PPAC and the AMP. The combined effect would be less revenue for nonprofits like the Philharmonic, Trinity Rep and Ballet RI, fewer bookings for venues, and fewer customers for hotels, restaurants and small businesses that serve our artists, staff and audiences. All would lose revenue. Undoubtedly, many would go out of business," he added.

This story was first published 5/30/2025 4:02 PM