May 16, 2018(UtahPolicy.com) - Utah families have a new resource to compare their state income tax liability for 2017 to their expected taxes for 2018. The online calculator is available on the Utah Foundation website (www.utahfoundation.org/2018/04/utah-state-income-tax-calculator/). The calculator is based on the findings of Utah Foundation’s most recent report, The Education Tax: Income Taxation in Utah. Users can enter their tax filing status, the amount of their 2017 itemized deductions (or the standard deduction), the number of personal exemptions … Continued
April 12, 2018(Salt Lake Tribune) - A recent change in tax law means that Utah families that had previously been able to reduce their tax liability by claiming deductions for each child will now lose that advantage. The cost to individual households, depending on their size and income, could be nothing, a few hundred dollars or as much as $1,000. And it all happened without the Utah Legislature doing a thing. Which — even if you like large families paying more … Continued
April 10, 2018(KNRS TalkRadio) - Peter Reichard, President of the Utah Foundation, joins the show to discuss how Utah Lawmakers failure to address the impact of federal tax reforms means Utah families will face an even larger tax burden in 2018. (Interview begins 13 minutes 33 seconds into the program.)
April 10, 2018(KSL Newsradio) - Tax changes made — and not made –in the 2018 Utah Legislative Session could mean a higher bill for some families. The Utah Foundation says Utah lawmakers failed to address the impact of federal reforms on the state taxpayer exemption, and that means most Utah families could have a higher state tax bill. “Initially, Utahns’ incomes are taxed at 5 percent. Then lower and middle income households qualify for taxpayer tax credit. But the federal … Continued
April 09, 2018(Salt Lake Tribune) - Federal reforms in 2017 eliminated the $3,038-per-dependent state tax exemption that helped lower tax bills for Utahns earning up to about $150,000. As a result, lower- and moderate-income households that benefited most from the tax credit will pay more in state tax. At the same time, the nominal state income tax cut, from 5 percent to 4.95 percent, “disproportionately benefits high-income earners,” said Peter Reichard, president of the Utah Foundation, an independent policy group. That … Continued
April 08, 2018(The Spectrum) - A tweak to Utah’s state income taxes is unlikely to make significant differences to individual taxpayers this year, but it could have longer-term impacts on the state economy and how it rates compared to other states. The tax change, which drops Utah’s marginal income tax rate from 5 percent to 4.96 percent, drops Utah’s ranking among states from 30th to 34th nationally, but the actual income tax burden per $1,000 of personal income actually ranks … Continued
March 22, 2018(KUTV) - A report conducted by Utah Foundation reportedly shows the results of changes to Utah’s income tax resulting from the 2018 legislative session. The report also explores possible impacts of future changes to the income tax, which is committed exclusively to public schools and higher education. The report, titled “The Education Tax: Income Taxation in Utah,” is the second report in a series of reports by the Utah Foundation that addresses Utah’s current tax structure.
March 14, 2018(Deseret News) - When the subject of property taxes comes up, local officials are apt to bring up Utah’s Truth in Taxation law. As the name of the law implies, Utah’s Legislature created the law as a means of ensuring transparency to decision-making about taxes. But one practical effect of the law was to limit local governments’ ability to reap windfalls from increasing property values. And from the perspective of some local officials, the law has stunted revenue … Continued
March 07, 2018(Deseret News) - Property taxes are unpopular, and this would put at risk a system that has kept a downward pressure on those rates for years. The Utah Foundation reports Utah’s property tax burden is the 34th highest in the nation. The reason it isn’t higher is that lawmakers long ago passed a law known as Truth-in-Taxation. Under that system, local governments may not collect more in property taxes than they did the previous year, other than to … Continued
February 23, 2018(UtahPolicy.com) - While property taxes account for about one-fourth of all the tax revenue collected by state and local governments in Utah, the burden of property taxes in the state is relatively low — 34th in the nation. Those are among the conclusions of a new Utah Foundation research report, The Essential Tax: Property Taxation in Utah. The key findings of the report include: Utah’s property tax burden ranks 34th among states. The tax burden has been … Continued
February 23, 2018(Daily Universe) - The Utah Foundation held a policy discussion on solutions to Utah’s air quality problems on Tuesday at Zions Bank headquarters. Utah Foundation President Peter Reichard said education about air quality was the primary purpose of the discussion. “So much of the challenge of air quality is getting people to understand what the heart of the matter is,” Reichard said. “The more we address the facts of the matter, the more we can make progress.” A … Continued
February 18, 2018(Deseret News) - After 30 years as a small business owner serving Utah employers in the insurance marketplace, I confront this issue daily — with both the rising costs of health care for our employees, and the challenges that our clients are facing. For years, our clients were lucky: Utah’s healthy lifestyle and youthful population meant that we had relatively low health care costs. But just because our costs are low doesn’t mean that they aren’t rising. A … Continued
February 14, 2018(San Juan Record) - Administrative costs in Utah’s K-12 public schools are among the lowest in the nation, Utah received the lowest amount of federal funding of any state, and spending varies widely among Utah’s school districts. These are a few of the findings from Utah Foundation’s new report, Simple Arithmetic? K-12 Education Spending in Utah. The report makes national and statewide comparisons and explores some of the reasons for spending patterns.
February 11, 2018(KTVX) - Every year the state of Utah spends billions of dollars on K-12 education, but where is all that money actually going? A new report is helping track those education funding numbers. Shawn Teigen with the Utah Foundation stops by Inside Utah Politics to help break down the numbers. “6 billion dollars a year. That’s from all sources. State, local and federal sources. From the state that is basically almost a quarter of the budget and … Continued
February 06, 2018(KUER) - Utah Foundation’s Vice President Shawn Teigen says this research is timely because this year some major decisions are being made regarding education spending. Along with Utah’s budget, there’s the Our Schools Now initiative that could increase taxes statewide. Take the number that’s often thrown around, “second.” As in, when it comes to per pupil funding, Utah is the second lowest spender in the country. “What does it tell us?” Teigen asks. “If we don’t move … Continued
February 06, 2018(KSL-TV) - Paying for our public schools costs nearly 25-percent of the state’s budget, so it’s important to know where the money is going. New research shows exactly whre the money is not going. When asked how much money is spent on administrative costs, Utahns believe it’s 26-percent. Asked how much should be spent on administration, according to Utah Foundation, Utahns say fourteen percent. The research shows it’s half that.
February 06, 2018(KTVX) - Nearly one fourth of the state’s budget is earmarked for education. A new report released Tuesday gives a glimpse into what happens once it goes to your child’s school district. Around $6 billion is spent every year on K-12 education in the state, according to Utah Foundation’s “Simple Arithmetic?” report, which also shows Utah spends the lowest in student spending. In Utah classrooms, nearly $6,600 are spent on the average student. That’s 42 percent below … Continued
February 06, 2018(Fox 13 News) - According to a new report from the Utah Foundation, Utah schools still deal with the lowest per pupil spending in the nation, though there’s a big disparity between districts. For example, Park City schools get about six dollars for property tax for every one dollar raised for Weber District Schools. Also, rural districts get more help from the state for transportation, and more from the federal government to help children in poverty. Combine that with … Continued
February 06, 2018(KNRS TalkRadio) - Rod Arquette Show Daily Rundown – Tuesday, February 6, 2018 6:05 pm: Shawn Teigen, Research Director at the Utah Foundation, joins the show to discuss his latest report on K-12 education spending (Note: Conversation with Shawn Teigen begins at 78 minutes 47 seconds into the program.)
January 26, 2018(Spectrum) - Scanning the indicators for economically successful states, any objective observer would need to pause on Utah. As Utah Foundation recently outlined in part of the 2018 Economic Report to the Governor, the state stacks up very favorably in national and regional comparisons. Looking at 2013 through 2016, the most recent three-year period with complete data, Utah Foundation found that our state ranked second in the nation for GDP growth, with an eye-opening annual growth rate … Continued
December 27, 2017(Deseret News) - At a year-end meeting this month, Utah Foundation’s board members ranked our findings for 2017. Two of the top-ranked findings pertained to voter turnout. The issue of voter turnout came up a few days later over lunch with a friend who wanted to explore ways to boost the numbers in Utah. Meanwhile, statewide, two separate groups have been gathering signatures for ballot initiatives to rethink the way we elect our candidates, both with an eye … Continued
December 20, 2017(KTVX) - Utah Governor Gary Herbert is continuing his push to focus on Utah’s education system. Wednesday, he and some of Utah’s top educational leaders discussed the state’s new educational plan. The state calls it the “Utah Education Roadmap”. “It’s not all about the money,” Gov. Herbert said at the podium Wednesday. “…but it’s some about the money,” he continued. Gov. Herbert is hoping to gain additional support for his new education plan. “We cannot do what … Continued
December 17, 2017(Deseret News) - A few years ago, the Utah Foundation issued a report showing Utah property taxes, as a percentage of personal income, had actually dropped since the 1960s, because of this law. Governments have long clamored to be able to capture more taxes based on inflation. The concern they often ignore is that this hidden increase would make it harder for low-income and retired fixed-income people to survive. The governor suggests expanding the so-called “circuit breaker” safety … Continued
December 17, 2017(Salt Lake Tribune) - In each decade, one or two public policy issues emerge as thematic. In the 1960s, for instance, it was civil rights and Vietnam; in the 1970s, it was energy and “stagflation”; in the 1980s, tax reform; in the 1990s, welfare reform; in the 2000s, terrorism. For our current decade, health care has come to dominate. Utah mirrors the nation on this. In a 2016 statewide survey, Utah Foundation found that health care was the number … Continued
December 08, 2017(KNRS) - Peter Reichard, President of the Utah Foundation, joins the show to discuss the results of a new study that show healthcare providers in Utah often charge very different rates for common procedures. (Note: Interview segment begins at 77 minutes into the program.)
