Taxation an important issue to voters in 2024 Utah Priorities Project

October 03, 2024 (Utah Policy)

Today, the Utah Foundation announces the release of a research brief focused on taxation. Several survey questions help us understand where Utah voters stand on taxation.

They were first asked how they might allocate funds if the state received an additional $200 million to address issues such as education, roads, or homelessness. Edu­cation and tax cuts topped the list of preferred options, receiving nearly 47% of total responses. Roads, health care, and homelessness were at the bot­tom of voters’ lists of issues to address.

When asked in 2020 which taxes should be cut, property and income taxes were voters’ top choic­es

In addition, half of Utahns disagreed that Utah should reduce tax­es, even if it results in lower quality service or fewer services from the state. Liberals were more likely to disagree and those who noted taxation at the top of their priorities were more likely to agree. 66% of very liberal respondents strongly disagreed while 33% of very conservative respondents strongly agreed.

These findings are in the new research brief, Taxes and Government Spending, to be released today.

“The Utah Foundation’s recent tax burden report illustrated that Utahns’ tax burden is the 19th highest in the country,” said John Salevurakis, Utah Foundation Research Analyst. “Nonetheless, only 32% of Utahns are willing to accept worse or fewer services to lower it further.”

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