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Opinion: Poor people gain nothing from a state income-tax cut

Maybe if legislators were living only on Social Security or a small pension they would understand this

SHARE Opinion: Poor people gain nothing from a state income-tax cut
Utah Education Association President Heidi Matthews is joined by a broad coalition of organization advocates asking the state not to cut taxes.

Utah Education Association President Heidi Matthews is joined by a broad coalition of organization advocates as she speaks during a press conference at the Capitol in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Feb. 20, 2020. The group called on the Utah Legislature to avoid cutting taxes until it has developed a comprehensive plan to address the state’s top priorities.

I just filed my Utah State income tax return. Because my taxable income was below the federal standard deduction, I end up paying zero state income tax. Whether the tax rate is 4.95% or 4.85% does not matter in my case.

I suspect many other low-income people, like seniors on Social Security, also are below the standard deduction and would also receive no benefit from this tax cut. However, we would have benefited from elimination of the food tax, which we pay every week. Even a yearly food tax rebate would have been better, although not ideal, to help the poor. Maybe if legislators were living only on Social Security or a small pension they would understand this.

Rolan Carr

Salt Lake City