R.I. Gen. Laws
Rhode Island General Laws

R.I. Gen. Laws § 44-4-10 (2026)

Persons to whom tangible personalty taxed — Place of taxation

✓ current as of July 2026
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(a) The fixtures enumerated in § 44-4-3, all motors, machines, equipment, fixtures and tools of all sorts however propelled, in any factory, machine shop, print works, manufacturing, or other establishment of any kind, and all livestock and farming tools on farms; all fixtures, tools, machinery, livestock, farming tools, goods, wares, merchandise, and all other tangible personal property except manufacturer’s inventory as defined in § 44-3-3 situated in or upon any place for sale of property, store, office, shop, mine, quarry, farm, place of storage, manufactory, warehouse, or dwelling house belonging to any person, partnership, corporation, joint stock company, or association, shall be taxed to the person, partnership, corporation, joint stock company, or association in the town or city where the property is situated as defined in § 44-4-24.

(b)(1) All tangible personal property described in this section belonging to any person under guardianship or held in trust or otherwise by an executor, administrator, or trustee shall be taxed to the guardian, executor, administrator, or trustee in the town where the property is situated as defined in § 44-4-24.

(2) If any tangible personal property described in this section located in any town or city shall belong to any person, partnership, corporation, joint stock company, or association unknown to the assessors, it shall be taxed to the owner, a person unknown to the assessors, and the collector may distrain and sell the property in the same manner as provided in chapters 8 and 9 of this title;

(3) Provided, that if any tangible personal property described in this section located in any town or city and belonging to any person, co-partnership, corporation, joint stock company, or association unknown to the assessors is in possession or custody of any agent, consignee, or other person or persons acting in a contractual representative capacity for the owner unknown to the assessors, it shall be taxed to the agent, consignee, or other representative, and the agent, consignee, or other representative is personally liable for the tax assessed against him or her on the property in his or her possession or custody owned as described in this section and, shall have a lien on the property of the person unknown to the assessors for the tax paid on the unknown person’s property;

(c) Provided, further, that nothing in this chapter shall be construed to impose any tax upon manufactured property owned by nonresidents and brought into this state temporarily to be finished and returned to the owner. Persons, partnerships, corporations, joint stock companies, or associations, residing or located in this state, and owning tangible personal property located in and taxed in any other state shall not be taxed for this property in this state.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 4 cases, 1967–1982 · leading case: Van Alen v. Stein, 376 A.2d 1383 (R.I. 1977).
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Van Alen v. Stein, 376 A.2d 1383 (R.I. 1977). · cites it 9× “Additionally, petitioners argue that the assessments were illegal because they included property which had no taxable situs in Newport under §§44-4-10 and 44-4-24. The petitioners also contend that denial of relief for failure to file accounts is a denial of procedural due…”
Bassett v. DeRentis, 446 A.2d 763 (R.I. 1982). · cites it 5× “1956 (1980 Reenactment) § 44-4-10 and concluded that the statute authorized the tax assessor to tax Bassett for the thirty-two campers and trailers.”
Brown & Sharpe Mfg. Co. v. Cote, 226 A.2d 814 (R.I. 1967). · cites it 8× “The Taxable Situs of §44-4-10 Property The principal issue is the taxable situs of the property assessed, and how §§44-4-10 and 44-4-24 5 should be construed.”
Est. of Wickes v. Stein, 266 A.2d 911 (R.I. 1970). · cites it 2× “Section 44-4-10, provides that all tangible personal property held in “trust or otherwise” by an executor, administrator or trustee shall be taxed to such executor, administrator or trustee in the municipality where such property is situated.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.