Utah Taxpayer

• Founding staff skipping out on iProvo, UTOPIA

  Utah’s 2 largest municipal telecom systems are struggling to maintain their senior staff. UTOPIA’s founding executives—Paul Morris (Executive Director), Roger Black (COO) and David Shaw (General Counsel)—have all left in the last six months, and iProvo has failed to hire a telecommunications manager for more than a year. Filling these [...]
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  Posted: March 03, 2008, 5:29pm EST
  

• The cost of smaller class sizes

  Since the Legislative Auditor General released his report on the funds the Legislature appropriated to reduce the average class size in Utah, the pundits have been wringing their hands. Apparently to everyone’s surprise and dismay, Utah class sizes are still the largest in the nation. For anyone even vaguely [...]
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  Posted: December 27, 2007, 8:20am EST
  

• Why the Cottonwood Mall RDA is just plain wrong

  In our last post, we noted why the Cottonwood Mall RDA is such a risky gamble. In this post, we’ll describe why the Cottonwood Mall RDA isn’t just risky—it’s just plain bad policy.
  
  The proposed Cottonwood Mall RDA will not create one job, not one residence. Not one. Every [...]
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  Posted: December 06, 2007, 10:00am EST
  

• If all goes as planned . . .

  Holladay is proposing to subsidize retail activity and residential construction that will occur on its own in Salt Lake County even without a subsidy. Using tax dollars to stimulate this type of activity makes absolutely no sense: retail and residential construction respond to local demand, which is a function of [...]
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  Posted: November 29, 2007, 4:58pm EST
  

• UTOPIA'S FINANCIALS

  Rep. Urquhart and Jesse Harris have recently been discussing questions regarding the financial position of UTOPIA on their respective blogs, www.steveu.com and www.freeutopia.org. Jesse Harris has focused on what he perceives as the dearth of public information on UTOPIA’s financial position. Fortunately, UTOPIA has published much of the [...]
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  Posted: November 26, 2007, 11:07am EST
  

• State employee retirement: 30% or 100% taxpayer funded?

  Number of comments: 1
  Utah state and local government employees, including school district employees, receive generous retirement benefits. Utah taxpayers cover 100% of the cost of state/local government employee retirement benefits (some employees on the older system chip in some of their own funding).
  
  However, the Utah Public Employees' Association claims differently. In' [...]
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  Posted: September 17, 2007, 1:18pm EDT
  by Utah Taxpayer

• Charter Schools Still Receive Less Funding Per Student than District Schools

  In its September 2007 newsletter, the Utah Taxpayers Association has released an analysis of per student spending for district schools and charter schools for FY2006.
  
  After excluding lunch service and non K-12 programs and deducting transportation costs and federal start-up funding, charter schools received $5,329 per student [...]
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  Posted: September 06, 2007, 6:09pm EDT
  by Utah Taxpayer

• Fees + Taxes = Double Taxation?

  Number of comments: 5
  Today's Deseret Morning News reports on the increased reliance on entrance fees to fund national and state parks. One of the persons quoted in the article suggested that having to pay taxes and fees is the same as paying twice.
  
  We've heard the same argument with regards to [...]
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  Posted: September 02, 2007, 9:23pm EDT
  by Utah Taxpayer

• Utah's Toothless Spending Limit

  Number of comments: 2
  The Utah Taxpayers Association's August newsletter has an article on pages 3 and 4 that explains Utah's spending limit and why it is ineffective at slowing government spending growth.
  
  In FY2008, total expenditures from the general and education funds (including earmarks) increased by 18.3%. The actual increase will [...]
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  Posted: August 28, 2007, 12:08am EDT
  by Utah Taxpayer

• Following up on $7,500 per student in FY2008

  We’ve received some questions about our $7,500 per Utah K-12 student spending estimate for FY2008. Click here to see the original post. Here are our answers to the questions we’ve received.
  
  Does your $7,500 estimate include “one-time” money?
  Yes it does, as it should. Those who want to [...]
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  Posted: August 21, 2007, 6:25pm EDT
  by Utah Taxpayer

• Property taxes, part 4: is Truth-in-Taxation harmful to local governments?

  Opponents of Truth-in-Taxation (TNT) argue that TNT harms local governments because the calculation of the certified tax rate does not include inflationary adjustments. To offset inflationary losses, local government must go through Truth-in-Taxation periodically.
  
  As we explained in part 3, property tax revenue growth since TNT's enactment has' [...]
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  Posted: August 17, 2007, 10:34pm EDT
  by Utah Taxpayer

• Property Taxes, Part 3: Truth-in-Taxation Results

  Number of comments: 3
  We’ve discussed the theory and mechanics behind Truth-in-Taxation in parts 1 and 2. Now we’ll talk about the results.
  
  Property tax revenue growth before and after Truth-in-Taxation
  In the six years (1980 to 1986) prior to Truth-in-Taxation’s enactment, property tax revenue grew at a 10.8% annualized rate even though [...]
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  Posted: August 13, 2007, 11:52pm EDT
  by Utah Taxpayer

• $7,500 per Utah K-12 student in FY2008?

  Number of comments: 5
  The Utah Taxpayers Association estimates that taxpayers will be spending more than $7,500 per student in FY2008. This figure includes operations, facility construction, and interest. It does not include non-K-12 programs.
  
  Isn't this higher than the Census Bureau figure?
  The most current Census Bureau spending per student figure for' [...]
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  Posted: August 08, 2007, 8:45pm EDT
  by Utah Taxpayer

• Throwing kids together?

  Number of comments: 5
  

  Kim Burningham is turning to the age-old canard of “diversity,” a common theme among voucher opponents. As he notes in yesterday’s Salt Lake Tribune, “We are best served by schools that throw children together. . . . One of our greatest faults as a society is that we have [...]

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  Posted: August 07, 2007, 9:22pm EDT
  by Utah Taxpayer

• What is Hogle Zoo Hiding?

  Hogle Zoo is asking the Salt Lake County Council to place a $65 million bond before the voters this November. Although the Zoo’s bond is nearly TWICE the size of the $35 million Real S.L. stadium subsidy, their proposal has faced little scrutiny. A scant 5 years ago, the Legislative [...]
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  Posted: August 06, 2007, 2:53pm EDT
  by Utah Taxpayer

• Property Taxes, Part 2: why did my taxes go up?

  Number of comments: 2
  Generally, when property valuations increase, property tax rates decrease to maintain revenue neutrality (excluding new growth). This revenue-neutral rate is called the certified tax rate. This rate is then applied to all properties, including new residential and commercial developments. Increased valuations due to new developments do not reduce the property [...]
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  Posted: August 01, 2007, 9:46pm EDT
  by Utah Taxpayer

• Property Taxes, Part 1: How Truth-in-Taxation Works

  Truth-in-Taxation is Utah’s most taxpayer-friendly law. It’s even better than California’s Prop 13 (more about that in a later post).
  
  How does Truth-in-Taxation (TNT) work?
  TNT is a revenue-driven system, not a rate-driven system. Generally, as valuations of existing property increase, property tax rates decrease. This automatic reduction in [...]
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  Posted: July 31, 2007, 8:57pm EDT
  by Utah Taxpayer

• Explaining your property taxes

  Number of comments: 5
  If you own property in Utah, you have most likely received a "notice of property valuation and tax change" from your county. Nearly everyone's property has increased dramatically. (Don't get too giddy about that because the value of your next house has increased by about the same percentage.)
  
  In [...]
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  Posted: July 31, 2007, 10:31pm EDT
  by Utah Taxpayer

• Congestion Pricing and Maximizing Freeway Throughput

  Transportation experts have demonstrated that congestion pricing can maximize highway throughput. Throughput is defined as the number of cars that cross a certain point on a freeway over a given amount of time. Cost-effectively maximizing throughput is obviously an important objective, and congestion pricing can achieve this objective by controlling [...]
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  Posted: July 25, 2007, 3:15pm EDT
  by Utah Taxpayer

• Mike's Top Twenty Political Songs

  Number of comments: 4
  Later this week, we'll have the results of a report we've done on the disparity between charter school and district school funding.
  
  In the mean time, inspired by Rep. Urquhart's top ten movies list, we present Mike's Top 20 Political Songs of All Time (in no particular order).
  
  [...]
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  Posted: July 23, 2007, 1:39pm EDT
  by Utah Taxpayer

• Utah School District Spending Report for FY2006

  Number of comments: 5
  How does your school district spend your tax dollars compared to other Utah school districts?
  
  The Utah Taxpayers Association has just released its annual school district spending report. Click here to view the report FY2006.
  
  The report contains district-by-district per student spending data, including the following:
  
  [...]
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  Posted: July 19, 2007, 12:36pm EDT
  by Utah Taxpayer

• Congestion pricing and the environment

  Congestion pricing is an issue that taxpayer advocates and environmentalists can rally behind. Environmentalists in other states and countries have been advocating for congestion pricing, and it's only a matter of time before environmental groups in Utah catch up with their counterparts in other places.
  
  Congestion pricing slows' [...]
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  Posted: July 16, 2007, 9:29pm EDT
  by Utah Taxpayer

• Are massive local sales tax increases for transportation “real” taxes?

  Number of comments: 1
  Are massive local sales tax increases for transportation “real” taxes or just “pretend” taxes?
  
  To most people, this sounds like a strange question. “Of course, local sales taxes for transportation are real taxes”, nearly every one would reply.
  
  We’ve been talking to a lot of people who are [...]
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  Posted: July 12, 2007, 8:14am EDT
  by Utah Taxpayer

• Current system for electing state board of education members is too easily manipulated

  Number of comments: 19
  Rep. Carl Wimmer is proposing partisan elections for the state board of education. Opponents criticize this as “politicizing” education.
  
  Reform opponents, however, don’t want voters to know how their state school board is currently “elected”. Not only is the current system “politicized”, it is hardly democratic, and the process [...]
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  Posted: July 10, 2007, 10:29pm EDT
  by Utah Taxpayer

• Incrementalism, part 3: Bryan Gray of the Davis County Clipper

  Bryan Gray of the Davis County Clipper gives us an opportunity to revisit the issue of incrementalism. We've previously written two posts on incrementalism. You can view those here and here. Incrementalism is a strategy employed by the spending lobby to gradually increase our tax burdens over time.' [...]
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  Posted: July 03, 2007, 10:20pm EDT
  by Utah Taxpayer

• The tax increase voucher opponents won’t tell you about, and how to avoid it

  Number of comments: 7
  The state Supreme Court has cleared up the ambiguities about Citizen’s State Referendum 1 this fall, and the campaign is under way. The first volley came when both sides submitted reasons for the referendum to repeal Utah’s voucher law to the Lt. Governor’s Office. While voucher supporters offered cogent [...]
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  Posted: June 28, 2007, 2:49pm EDT
  by Utah Taxpayer

• Principled and Objective?

  The Salt Lake Tribune’s recent editorial on splitting the Jordan School District betrayed their willingness to set aside principle, and pursue their ideological agenda no matter what. Since March 1, the Tribune has issued no fewer than 15 editorials in support of the referendum to repeal Utah’s voucher law, [...]
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  Posted: June 28, 2007, 2:39pm EDT
  by Utah Taxpayer

• The impact of children on Utah government

  Number of comments: 5
  Jay Williams’ op-ed (“There is no way around paying for quality education,” Salt Lake Tribune) notes Utah’s demographics present tremendous challenges for funding Utah’s public schools. However, his argument about the “ratio of students to taxpaying adults” not causing similar funding problems for roads, the power grid, sewage treatment [...]
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  Posted: June 28, 2007, 11:54am EDT
  by Utah Taxpayer

• Proposed sales tax increases demonstrate need for transportation reform

  The need for transportation reform becomes more obvious every day, and it's time for Gov. Huntsman and the Utah Legislature to step up to the plate and make it happen.
  
  This November, commissioners in Weber, Davis, and Box Elder counties will be asking voters to increase sales taxes by [...]
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  Posted: June 26, 2007, 8:25am EDT
  by Utah Taxpayer

• Government living large in Utah

  Number of comments: 1
  The June newsletter of the Utah Taxpayers Association has a report on state and local revenues and tax burdens. Typically, Utah ranks high by these measures, and this year is no exception.
  
  Click here to see the report.
  
  Click here to see previous comments we made [...]
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  Posted: June 22, 2007, 9:16am EDT
  by Utah Taxpayer

• More WPU confusion

  Last week, we commented on the confusion that is created when newspapers, education advocates, and elected officials equate the WPU with per student spending. Today's example comes from the Deseret Morning News:
  
  "The Legislature gave a 4 percent increase in the weighted pupil unit, the state's basic per-student [...]
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  Posted: June 18, 2007, 7:32am EDT
  by Utah Taxpayer

• WPU Confusion

  Within public education finance, nothing is more misunderstood than the Weighted Pupil Unit, or WPU. An article in last Sunday’s Tribune provides an excellent example of how the WPU is routinely misunderstood by elected officials, reporters, education advocates, and the public.
  
  'The [Minimum School Program’s] 'weighted-pupil unit' - $2,417 [...]
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  Posted: June 09, 2007, 7:32am EDT
  by Utah Taxpayer

• Quote of the Day: Real Salt Lake

  Today's quote comes from Real Salt Lake (0-3-6) spokesman Eric Gelfand
  
  "When people are properly educated that the hotel taxes are paid nearly 100 percent by out-of-towners, they are in favor of [tax dollars for Real stadium]".
  Source: Deseret Morning News, June 3, 2007
  
  In other [...]
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  Posted: June 04, 2007, 6:07am EDT
  by Utah Taxpayer

• Transportation Reform

  The Deseret Morning News has an article on gas taxes. Not surprisingly, most Utahns are not supportive of increasing gas taxes.
  
  The article mentioned the Utah Taxpayers Association's transportation reform proposal which includes
  
  - Increasing gas taxes while cutting individual income taxes
  - Congestion pricing
  - [...]
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  Posted: May 30, 2007, 7:11am EDT
  by Utah Taxpayer

• Vouchers: Let the people decide?

  Note: The following is in response to voucher opponents who complain that voucher supporters do not intend to abide by the vote of the people if vouchers are rejected.
  
  Voucher opponents, confident that they will prevail in a popular vote, are demanding "Let the people decide on vouchers".
  
  [...]
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  Posted: May 24, 2007, 6:13am EDT
  by Utah Taxpayer

• Provo Daily Herald: an example of economic illiteracy

  Economic illiteracy continues to plague policy debate in Utah as evidenced by a recent editorial in the Provo Daily Herald.
  
  Last week, the Daily Herald sang the praises of Orem’s recreation and arts tax, claiming that increasing taxes to support arts and entertainment promotes economic growth. The following [...]
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  Posted: May 21, 2007, 6:54am EDT
  by Utah Taxpayer

• The Fiscal Impact of School Choice Programs

  The pro-voucher Friedman Foundation recently released a study demonstrating that school choice programs have saved school districts and taxpayers $444 million from 1990 to 2006. Click here to see the report.
  
  Dr. Susan Aud, who prepared the study, wrote "to keep our analysis conservative, we have not only [...]
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  Posted: May 17, 2007, 9:15pm EDT
  by Utah Taxpayer

• Responding to Tribune editorial on gas tax increase and income tax cut

  On Sunday, the Tribune wrote this editorial in response to this proposal by the Utah Taxpayers Association. The Tribune got a couple of items wrong.
  
  Do tax burdens have to be increased to fund transportation?
  The Tribune wrote that the association’s proposal “doesn't solve the biggest problem, [...]
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  Posted: May 15, 2007, 9:32pm EDT
  by Utah Taxpayer

• Taxing Services?

  Yesterday, the The Salt Lake Tribune editorial board called for imposing sales taxes on services. The Tribune wrote "Ours is increasingly a service economy. The tax system should reflect that. "
  
  The proposal probably won't get very far, but here are some points to consider.
  
  1. [...]
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  Posted: May 09, 2007, 5:44pm EDT
  by Utah Taxpayer

• USDOT supports congestion pricing

  David Horner, Chief Counsel in the Federal Transit Administration of the U.S. Department of Transportation, addressed the attendees of the 2007 Utah Taxes Now Conference regarding the benefits of congestion pricing.
  
  The costs of congestion
  Using data from the Texas Transportation Institute, Horner noted that Americans annually experience 3.7 [...]
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  Posted: May 07, 2007, 5:57am EDT
  by Utah Taxpayer

• Raise state gas taxes, cut income taxes

  The Utah Taxpayers Association is proposing a four-pronged approach to addressing state transportation issues. These prongs are
  
  1. Congestion pricing
  2. Transportation corridor preservation
  3. Prioritization of rails and roads projects based on cost-effectiveness of reducing congestion.
  4. Significantly increasing gas taxes while cutting income taxes to maintain revenue [...]
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  Posted: May 01, 2007, 12:15pm EDT
  by Utah Taxpayer

• 2007 Legislative Scorecard

  The Utah Taxpayers Association has just released its 2007 legislative scorecard. Click here to see how legislators voted on key tax issues.
  
  Click here to see position papers on most of the bills on the 2007 scorecard.
  
  This year, we supported most of the tax [...]
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  Posted: April 27, 2007, 9:48am EDT
  by Utah Taxpayer

• iProvo: the rest of the story

  Last Sunday, Provo Mayor Lewis Billings wrote an op-ed in the Deseret Morning News extolling the virtues of iProvo. We would like to cover some points that Mayor Billings overlooked.
  
  iProvo is losing money
  Last year, iProvo lost nearly $1 million and is expected to lose about $2 [...]
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  Posted: April 24, 2007, 8:35am EDT
  by Utah Taxpayer

• Vouchers: Responding to Rep. Kay McIff, part 2

  Last week, Republican Rep. Kay McIff submitted ten reasons why he is opposed to vouchers in a guest editorial in the Standard Examiner. Click here to see part 1 of our response to Rep. McIff.
  
  Today, we respond to some other points Rep. McIff raised in his [...]
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  Posted: April 19, 2007, 3:18pm EDT
  by Utah Taxpayer

• Taxes on Typical Utah Family

  Last week, the Utah Taxpayers Association released a report detailing the federal, state, and local taxes paid by a median income Utah family consisting of two parents and three children. Click here to read the report and click here to read the Deseret Morning News article on the [...]
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  Posted: April 16, 2007, 2:30pm EDT
  by Utah Taxpayer

• Vouchers: Responding to Rep. Kay McIff, part 1

  Rep. Kay McIff (R) outlined ten reasons why he opposes vouchers in a guest editorial that appeared in yesterday's Standard Examiner. We'll be addressing these points (in no particular order) over the week, starting today.
  
  In point number two, McIff argues that vouchers are a subsidy for private [...]
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  Posted: April 12, 2007, 4:00pm EDT
  by Utah Taxpayer

• There has to be a better way to fund transportation

  Many years ago, sales taxes were increased by 0.25% (actually 0.25 percentage points) along the Wasatch Front to pay for mass transit. This was called the first quarter. Then came the second quarter. A quarter of the second quarter in Salt Lake County is used for roads. As of this [...]
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  Posted: April 09, 2007, 8:41am EDT
  by Utah Taxpayer

• Taxes Now Conference, May 4th

  The Utah Taxpayers Association will be hosting its annual Utah Taxes Now conference on May 4th at the Little America Hotel in downtown SLC.
  
  The conference will be moderated by KUTV's Rod Decker. We've got an impressive line up of speakers including
  
  Gov. Jon Huntsman, Jr.
  Senate President [...]
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  Posted: April 05, 2007, 8:38am EDT
  by Utah Taxpayer

• Tax Freedom Day

  Tax Freedom Day will arrive on April 30th this year, according to the Tax Foundation, two days later than last year. On a state-by-state basis, Tax Freedom Day arrives on different days. In Utah, for example, Tax Freedom Day arrives on April 22nd, a couple days earlier than the nation [...]
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  Posted: April 02, 2007, 11:41am EDT
  by Utah Taxpayer

• Corporate income tax change: single sales factor apportionment

  In recent years, states have been slowly reducing corporate income taxes. States have been doing this not by reducing corporate income tax rates but rather by increasing the sales factor weighting in corporate income tax apportionment formulas.
  
  What is apportionment of corporate income?
  Apportionment of corporate income is an [...]
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  Posted: March 29, 2007, 3:22pm EDT
  by Utah Taxpayer

• Impact of Utah state income tax changes on federal income taxes

  Several people have asked us if the recent Utah income tax changes will impact federal income taxes. For those who itemize deductions on federal income taxes, the answer is yes. Federal taxes will be increasing as a result of state income tax cuts. That's because Utahns who itemize will have [...]
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  Posted: March 26, 2007, 8:33am EDT
  by Utah Taxpayer

• BYU professor opposes vouchers?

  Last week, the Provo Daily Herald published an anti-voucher letter by BYU professor Richard Davis and two others.
  
  Not surprisingly, they falsely claimed that vouchers would financially hurt public education. Click here to see our response to this claim.
  
  However, we can't help but be shocked that [...]
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  Posted: March 23, 2007, 3:43pm EDT
  by Utah Taxpayer

• Impact of tax changes on Utah family of four

  The Utah Taxpayers Association has just released its analysis of the impact of recent tax changes on a Utah family of four of various incomes. Click here to read the analysis.
  
  This analysis illustrates the impact of tax changes of the 2006 and 2007 legislative sessions, including the [...]
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  Posted: March 20, 2007, 11:11am EDT
  by Utah Taxpayer

• Would HB148 repeal hurt taxpayers?

  Question: would repeal of HB148 (education vouchers) harm taxpayers? Maybe, maybe not.
  
  We've always supported means-tested education vouchers because they are a good deal for taxpayers, parents, and students.
  
  - Choice allows parents to find education options that are best suited for their children.
  
  - [...]
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  Posted: March 15, 2007, 8:28pm EDT
  by Utah Taxpayer