December 9, 2019 – The Utah Taxpayers Association urges support from state lawmakers on the legislation that was released on Friday, December 6th from the Tax Restructuring and Equalization Task Force.
“The refinement that has taken place over the last nine months has produced legislation that will deliver a significant tax cut to taxpayers and ensure that Utah further maintains its position as the best state in the nation to live and do business in,” Association Vice President Rusty Cannon said. “We have been involved in an endless number of meetings over the last year on this subject and have witnessed nothing but legislators and staff listening carefully to feedback and countless ideas that we and others have provided. While we have a few concerns over parts of the bill, including the increase in the motor vehicle rental tax and elimination of the sales tax exemption for electricity on ski lifts, we believe legislators want to get this right.“
The bill delivers a net tax cut of $160 million, and goes a long way in modernizing the tax structure in Utah to address the inherent problems created by the constitutional earmark requiring all income tax to go to funding for education. Most importantly, all of the tax cuts in the bill add up to a total cut of nearly two-thirds of a billion dollars, at $635 million. Again, Utahns can expect a net tax cut of $160 million, which offsets additional taxes on fuel, groceries and some services totalling $475 million that would be collected under the bill.
The Association sent a detailed statement to legislators outlining the many reasons the bill will be a benefit for all Utahns. That can be found on our website, utahtaxpayers.org.
We urge state lawmakers to support the proposal.