Written by: Staff
Taxes and government spending was an important issue to voters in the 2024 Utah Priorities Project survey. Preferences varied by gender, income, and political affiliation. For instance, women prefer to fund education and health care with hypothetical windfall funds. In another question, conservatives and liberals have drastically different views regarding the effectiveness of government.
Written by: Christopher Collard
Incorporating into a city can give residents a sense of self-determination. Being able to elect one’s own leaders to make decisions for the local area can be empowering. However, it does come with a cost. The new city would be responsible for directly providing services for the newly incorporated area, or contracting with another service provider. A private entity hired the Utah Foundation to perform a supplementary analysis to the state’s required feasibility study. This … Continued
Written by: Christopher Collard
Taxes are everywhere. The small amount added to each purchase. The difference between your promised salary and what shows up in your bank account. The pennies added to each gallon of gas. The additional fee added to a water bill to cover sewerage services. So much of the public policy debate is focused on how to collect taxes, and what services they fund. This report, however, merely examines the aggregate burden of state and local … Continued
Written by: Christopher Collard
Businesses in Utah have for years reported that they have difficulty finding enough skilled employees to meet their needs. In a 2018 survey, the Utah Foundation found that this difficulty was the top issue “holding businesses back.” But this problem is not unique to the private sector. Local and state governments face a similar challenge, particularly in filling law enforcement positions. It seems to have become even more acute in recent years. This report highlights … Continued
Written by: Christopher Collard
State taxes and government spending has continuously been a top-10 issue for voters since Utah Foundation’s first Utah Priorities Project in 2004. The 2020 iteration of the project is no exception. While open-ended responses often indicate that people feel that taxes are too high, this brief highlights some additional survey questions that offer a more nuanced view. The priority may also get additional attention this year due to the coronavirus and the associated recession’s still … Continued
Written by: Staff
At the onset of the 2020 coronavirus pandemic and resultant economic downturn, the Utah Foundation worked with the Finance Committee of the Utah Economic Response Task Force to brainstorm and develop ideas with the potential to aid the economic rebound of the state. This menu of ideas includes some ideas that are well-developed and others in preliminary stages. Some are short-term approaches while others look further onto the horizon. While many of the ideas require … Continued
Written by: Sam Brucker
Building a Better Beehive: Land Use Decision Making, Fiscal Sustainability and Quality of Life in Utah explores the fiscal challenges that accompany growth, both in the short-term and in the long-term. The report also draws from Utah Foundation’s 2018 Quality of Life survey to demonstrate what Utahns value most in their communities, and which issues concern them most. Building from the fiscal challenges and quality of life concerns, the report identifies five strategic categories to … Continued
Written by: Christopher Collard
During the 2019 Utah legislative session, there are at least five bills that directly deal with how local governments award business incentives. Others may indirectly affect local governments’ ability to do so There are several ways to view local incentives. Critics might see them as public subsidies which distort economic growth. Others take a more neutral view, but focus on the funds that local governments forgo to incentivize economic development. Boosters view them as a … Continued
Written by: Christopher Collard
The sales tax is paid almost every day by virtually every person who sets foot in Utah – residents and visitors alike. It is one of the legs of Utah’s “three-legged stool” of tax revenues, along with property and income taxes. The Everyday Tax examines Utah’s sales tax, comparing it to taxes in other states and looking at the factors affecting its growth. It also looks at exemptions and earmarks, as well as options for broadening the sales tax base. This is the … Continued
Written by: Christopher Collard
Property tax is one of the legs of Utah’s “three-legged stool” of tax revenues, along with the income and sales taxes. During the nineties and early aughts, the property tax was the smallest revenue generator of the three. However, with the 2008 income tax reform and the erosion of sales tax revenues, the three have been more equal, with the property tax bringing in approximately $3.3 billion in 2016, compared to $3.6 billion for income … Continued