You’ve undoubtedly heard the news: Utah’s economy is the envy of the nation. For much of the past decade, no state has kept pace with Utahns’ entrepreneurial spirit and hard work, and it’s time that effort is honored with a well-deserved tax break for Utah families.
Over the past year my colleagues have traveled the state, listening to citizens about how to best prepare Utah for the future. One message has been clear: Utahns deserve a return on the remarkable growth we’ve achieved. After a robust and lengthy study process, lawmakers have presented a bill that will do that and more.
Implementing tax reform will ensure our economic successes become not merely a footnote in a history book, but a lasting legacy of prosperity and achievement. In addition to helping Utah families by enabling them to keep more of their paychecks, the proposal reshapes the state budget to keep taxes low and government small — all while continuing to prioritize and expand funding for education. The proposal also embodies the best of our compassionate selves by enhancing funding to the elderly and those struggling to make ends meet.
The tax proposal has six key elements:
1) Give a tax cut of roughly $160 million in ongoing funding.
2) Provide a targeted grocery credit to low- to middle-income households while restoring the full sales tax rate on unprepared food.
3) Strengthen the tax credit for dependents that was eliminated by Congress in the federal tax reform bill of 2017.
4) Create an income tax credit for Social Security retirement income.
5) Continue to significantly invest in state highways and transit, while reducing the burden on the general fund.
6) Move funding of higher education to the sales tax-backed general fund and out of the income tax fund without negatively impacting public education.
The Utah Legislature is working to prepare the state for a bright future of opportunity, yet voices in many camps have argued against tax reform in any form. I want to address some of those concerns.
To those who oppose the bill being debated in a special session, I believe the issue is of such importance that it is deserving of the exclusive consideration and debate that can only occur in such a forum. And more importantly, we want to ensure that significant tax cuts can be made before the end of the year so that Utahns can see tax cuts reflected in their take-home pay in early 2020.
To those clamoring that the proposal somehow hurts education, the proposal shifts approximately $530 million of higher education funding from the income tax fund to the general fund, allowing public education even more of our state’s income tax revenue. This proposal unquestionably strengthens our ability to fund and prioritize our state’s school-age children.
To those arguing the tax reform process has been rushed and lacked opportunities for public input, this process has been quite the opposite. For nearly two decades, state leaders have grappled with how best to adjust our tax system to fit a rapidly changing economy. Including Monday’s scheduled meeting, the study process undertaken by the Tax Restructuring Equalization Task Force over the past seven months will have included 17 public meetings and nearly 60 hours of public input. To put that in perspective, other legislative proposals typically receive only two opportunities for public input during the general legislative session.
Utah’s leaders are committed to ensuring our best days are ahead of us. It is easier for people to throw stones when they do not bear the burdens of deliberation and decision. But taking the long view requires that we not only meet the needs of today’s citizens but the needs of tomorrow’s as well.
The questions associated with reform are complicated, and the answers are often just as complex. While this proposal will not be the last to address our tax system, there is no question that Utah families deserve a dividend, in the form of a significant tax cut, on the extraordinary success of our state’s economy. Change is never easy, but the consequences of inaction are too significant to be ignored.
Utah Rep. Brad Wilson is Utah’s Speaker of the House and represents District 15 in the Utah Legislature.