The Journal, notably Edward Achorn, constantly grumbles about the overall tax burden in Rhode Island, comparing it with our neighbors, in Massachusetts and Connecticut. His contention is that the difference between us and them forces people to leave Rhode Island for those states or not relocate to Rhode Island.

Recent statistics in the Journal business section attest that Rhode Island is number 11 in tax burden on a national basis, while Connecticut and Massachusetts rank 20th and 37th, respectively. That seems like a significant gap, supportive of the Achorn position, until one looks at the practical impact of those differences. If one has annual income of $40,000, his or her tax in Rhode Island, at the rate of $119.79 per thousand, would be $4,791.60. If he or she lived in Massachusetts, at its rate of $105.69, the tax would be $4,227.60, and in Connecticut, at its rate of $114.94 —$4,597.60. Thus, in Massachusetts, compared with Rhode Island, the taxpayer saves $564 a year. In Connecticut he saves $194.

With all due respect to Mr. Achorn and The Journal, it borders on the absurd to think that an individual contemplating such numbers is going to make a decision as major as locating or relocating on the basis of differentials of such small magnitude. (As an aside, changes to the income-tax code in Rhode Island that apply to the upper-income brackets have made us competitive with our neighbors.)

The larger issue here is not just the minor differences based on a real analysis of these numbers. The larger issue is that The Journal’s treatment of this story and Mr. Achorn’s repetitive columns are almost always slanted in the most negative way possible. Has it ever occurred to you that much of the pessimism and lack of confidence which you constantly report as being rampant among our population can be attributed to your coverage?

The late Vice President Spiro Agnew is hardly a figure for emulation. However, in your case he may have been on to something when he characterized the media as “nattering nabobs of negativism.”

ROBERT C. HARRALL

Cranston

The writer is the formerRhode Island state court administrator.