Tax increases on the ballot could cost you more than $100 per year
(KUTV) -- Five topics on ballots in Salt Lake City would raise your taxes, potentially by more than $100 per year for your family.
Salt Lake City Streets Reconstruction Bond would cost the average homeowner about $46 per year
That’s the additional property tax bill for the average house worth $339,500, according to the city. The money would be used for $87 million in bonds to fund street repairs. The city bills the bond as “a net property tax increase of just $0 to $5 a year” because several unrelated bonds are wrapping up. If the bond fails, taxes on the average house would drop $41 per year, “but our roads would continue their decline,” the city writes.
Arguments for and against the bond are available here.
Question 1 would raise the fuel tax by 10 cents per gallon. If you fill up with 500 gallons of gas per year, expect to pay $50 more
The money would fund transportation-related projects, freeing up general fund dollars for education. The result is nonbinding; voters’ decision would encourage lawmakers to take action.
Ballot language for Question 1 is available here.
Proposition 3 would expand Medicaid, costing Utahns 0.15% more in sales tax. If you spend $10,000 at stores annually, you’ll pay $15 more.
Arguments for and against Proposition 3 are available here.
Constitutional Amendment A would have a slight impact on property tax bills, potentially pennies per person.
The amendment gives military members serving out of state for most of the year an exemption on their property taxes. Their neighbors would pick up the slack.
Arguments for and against Amendment A are available here.
Constitutional Amendment B would have a slight impact on property tax bills, potentially pennies per person.
The amendment gives landlords who lease private property to the government an exemption on their taxes. Those in favor say the state is essentially paying itself a property tax now, adding “it doesn’t make sense to use taxpayer dollars to pay more taxes.” Opponents say landlords will save money and others will pay more in taxes.
Three tax attorneys told 2News that Amendment B amounts to a tax increase.
“When a piece of real property is exempt from real property taxes, the neighboring real property owners necessarily subsidize the taxes that would otherwise have been collected in respect to the exempt real property,” said Sterling Olander, a tax attorney. “Because Amendment B creates a new category of real property that is exempt from property taxes, all else being equal, I would expect real property owners to experience a property tax increase to offset the decrease in property tax revenue.”
Arguments for and against Amendment B are available here.
The Utah Taxpayers Association has weighed in, supporting Amendments A and B and opposing Proposition 3. The nonprofit is neutral on Question 1. Their analysis is available here.
“The ballot here has the potential for a lot of tax increases, of which we are generally opposed to,” said Rusty Cannon, vice president of the Utah Taxpayers Association. “Folks get tired of that over time, and whether you call it nickel and diming or what have you, eventually taxpayers can’t be burdened with too much.”
