The Utah Taxpayers Association annually releases a legislative scorecard ranking Utah’s legislators by their votes on the most important tax-related bills considered during the most recent legislative session.
Out of 76 bills the Utah Taxpayers Association tracked during the 2020 Legislature, 14 tax-related bills were used in rating Utah’s 104 legislators.
The average score in the Senate is 79.3%, a drop from 82.2% the year before. The House average this year is 74%, down from 77.3% in 2019. while the House average is 77.3%. Senator Curt Bramble was the only legislator to score 100% this year.
Sen. Lincoln Fillmore was the second highest percentage with the Utah Taxpayers Association, at 90.9%.
Four senators will be receiving the “Friend of the Taxpayer” award, with those voting more than 90% of the time with the Taxpayers position. Those were Senators Curt Bramble, Lincoln Fillmore, Dan McCay and Don Ipson. Six members of the House won the award. Those were Representatives Walt Brooks, Marc Roberts, Mike McKell, Mike Schultz , Jeff Moss, and Adam Robertson.
Along with the 2020 General Session bills included in the Scorecard, the Association added SB 2001 from the December 2019 special session.
SB 2001, Tax Restructuring Revisions, was the result of nearly a year of deliberation from the Tax Equalization and Restructuring Task Force, the Legislature took up the recommendation in December of 2019. SB 2001 reduced the income tax rate to 4.66%, restored the dependent exemption for state income tax, reduced state income taxes on social security income, and created an Earned Income Tax Credit. In addition, it restored the full state sales tax rate on unprepared food and repealed the sales tax exemption on motor fuel.
Your Taxpayers Association supports cutting income taxes and broadening the sales tax base while providing an overall $160 million tax cut to Utah taxpayers.
At the beginning of the 2020 General Session, in response to a successful referendum, the Legislature repealed SB 2001 in its entirety.
To view the entire Scorecard, click here.