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Utah's Tax Burden Lowest in 20 Years

Chris Collard
Brian Grimmett
Utah Foundation Research Analyst Chris Collard presents the finding of his study on Utah's Tax Burden

A new report from the Utah Foundation shows that the tax burden on Utahns is the lowest it’s been in 20 years.

According to the Utah Foundation the average Utahn pays about $112 in taxes and fees for every $1,000 they make. Compared to other states, Utah has the 21st highest tax burden. Chris Collard is the research analyst who put together the study. He says another interesting finding is Utah’s shift from taxes to fees.

“It’s probably more politically easy to increase fees, rather than increase taxes and that probably also has some effect on that," he says.

Fees in Utah account for almost 8% more of total revenue now than they did 20 years ago.

Matthew Weinstein is the fiscal policy director at the nonprofit Voices for Utah Children. He says, while he understand that no one likes paying taxes, this report raises some concerns about whether we’re paying enough to adequately fund things like education.

“If we want to continue to reap the benefits of the tremendous quality of life and standard of living we need to be prepared to invest in our state, invest in our future, invest in our children,” Weinstein says.

The report from the Utah Foundation also found that the great recession had little impact on Utah’s tax burden, and that local taxes are gradually becoming a larger portion of the overall tax burden. 

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