An Interesting (and Surprising) Analysis of Tax Trends in Utah

Utah Tax Graph 1995-2018

I think everyone feels like our state and local tax burden in Utah has been going up, up, up. Some researchers decided to analyze that, and what they found is surprising. It’s actually been going down since 1995 - even property taxes relative to rising incomes. No wonder people are moving here! This is an interesting report with fascinating graphs:

https://utahchildren.org/images/pdfs-doc/ITEP_UT_history_pdf_version.pdf

On page 6 of the report, we find this support for the now-repealed tax reform effort: “On the positive side, it is noteworthy that the largest percent-of-income tax cut in the December 2019 package goes to the lowest-income quintile of Utahns -- half a percentage point, from 7.5% of income to 7% of income.”

But the people did not like that tax reform package for many reasons (especially the food tax!), and I think their opposition has led to a better solution.

  • Cheryl

Cheryl Acton