 |
Unofficial Voice of the Utah Senate Majority |
 |
|
HomeProfilesArchiveLinksOfficial SiteAboutContactGovernment 2.0
|
Welcome to The Senate Site
Utah's Tax Burden
Two excerpts from the Deseret News Editorial on the lead article in the Utah Taxpayers Association's June Newsletter: The irony is that Utahns get more outraged about property taxes than any other tax. In truth, Utahns pay less in property taxes than the national average, and less than people in California, who have spent 30 years under Proposition 13 — a tax-limiting measure some Utahns covet.
Another truth is that Utahns have the eighth-highest overall burden of taxes and fees in the nation. That is according to the latest figures from the Utah Taxpayers Association, which annually calculates the state's burden and measures it against all other states. Conventional wisdom says Utahns have a high tax burden because of the large numbers of children they must educate. To some extent, this is true. But a big part of the burden Utahns bear comes from fees, for everything from business licenses to drivers' licenses and college tuition.
. . . The report offers some good news. Despite a growing tax burden as a percentage of personal income, Utah's rank actually has slipped, from fifth place in the previous report. Also, recent tax cuts enacted by the Legislature are bound to improve that ranking in the future.
But without the fees, Utah ranks 20th in tax burden. It ranks 15th in individual income taxes, again because of public education costs.
The property tax burden, however, ranks 38th.
|
|
|
Home | Profiles | Archive | Links | Official Information | About | Contact | Government 2.0 Lab | Back to Top
© 2008. All rights reserved. Designed by Jeremy Wright & His Brother-In-Law |
4 Comments:
I love it when the Left says we shouldn't count fees, especially college tuition, because college is voluntary but then complain that legislative decisions to rely more on tuition instead of state funding makes college unaffordable and is bad policy.
Are tax deductions for large families figured into this tax burden?
I would assume all deductions, credits, exemptions, exclusions, etc. are included.
Dear Utah Senate. You must seek to REDUCE to role of government in spite of your tendencies to think that YOU are the solution to every problem. You must spend less money and reduce taxes.
In contrast to the popular belief that Utah is a conservative state, indeed the Utah Senate has shown consistently a willingness to grow government, grow programs and grow spending and to be as liberal as ANY sate legislature in the country when it comes to Big vs. restricted government.
Post a Comment
<< Home