§ 44-13-4. Rate of taxation. The tax imposed will be at the following rates:

(1) In the case of every corporation whose principal business is a steamboat or ferryboat business as a common carrier, every common carrier steam or electric railroad corporation, every street railway corporation, every common carrier dining, sleeping, chair, or parlor car corporation, every corporation whose principal business is selling and distributing water to the public, and every toll bridge corporation, one and one-fourth percent (1.25%) of its gross earnings;

(2) In the case of every corporation whose principal business is manufacturing, selling, distributing and/or transmitting currents of electricity to be used for light, heat, or motive power, four percent (4%) of its gross earnings, but deductions shall be made of gross earnings from the transmission or sale of electricity to other public utility corporations, non-regulated power producers, or municipal utilities for resale, whether within or outside of this state; provided, that the tax measured by the portion of the utility's gross earnings as is derived from the manufacture and sale of illuminating and heating gas and its by-products and the merchandising of gas appliances shall be computed at the rate of three percent (3%);

(3) In the case of every express corporation carrying on its business on steamboats, steam or electric railroads, or street railways and of every public service corporation whose principal business is that of a telegraph corporation, four percent (4%) of its gross earnings;

(4) In the case of every telecommunications corporation providing telecommunications service, ten percent (10%) of its gross earnings; provided, that the rate shall be nine percent (9%) effective July 1, 1985, eight percent (8%) effective July 1, 1986, seven percent (7%) effective July 1, 1987, six percent (6%) effective July 1, 1988, and five percent (5%) effective July 1, 1997. For purposes of this chapter, "telecommunications service" means the transmission of any interactive two-way electromagnetic communications including voice, image, data, and other information, by means of wire, cable, including fiber optical cable, microwave, and radio wave, or any combinations of these media. This definition does not include value added non-voice services in which computer processing applications are used to act on the form, content, code, and protocol of the information to be transmitted;

(5) In the case of every public service cable corporation, eight percent (8%) of its gross earnings;

(6) In the case of every corporation whose principal business is manufacturing, selling and/or distributing to the public illuminating or heating gas, three percent (3%) of its gross earnings.

History of Section. (P.L. 1942, ch. 1212, art. 6, § 2; P.L. 1947, ch. 1887, art. 6, § 1; G.L. 1956, § 44-13-4; P.L. 1969, ch. 197, art. 3, § 1; P.L. 1969, ch. 198, art. 4, § 1; P.L. 1971, ch. 265, § 12; P.L. 1972, ch. 205, § 9; P.L. 1983, ch. 264, § 1; P.L. 1985, ch. 181, art. 62, § 1; P.L. 1989, ch. 126, art. 18, § 1; P.L. 1990, ch. 65, art. 74, § 1; P.L. 1991, ch. 44, art. 35, § 1; P.L. 1992, ch. 133, art. 41, § 1; P.L. 1997, ch. 357, § 8; P.L. 2006, ch. 236, § 14; P.L. 2006, ch. 237, § 14; P.L. 2007, ch. 73, art. 7, § 8; P.L. 2008, ch. 100, art. 18, § 2.)