Utah Senate moving ahead with income tax cut; Here's how much you would save

SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — The Utah Senate is moving ahead on an income tax cut that would reduce the rate from 4.95 to 4.85 percent.

Sen. Evan Vickers (R-Cedar City), the Senate majority leader, told reporters Monday Senate Bill 59 will be the vehicle to cut the tax rate. He said the bill is expected to be heard by a Senate committee by the middle of the week.

The rate cut would equate to a savings of roughly $84 a year for a family of four making between $55,000 and $75,000, according to estimates from a legislative fiscal analyst shared with KUTV 2News.

For the same family making over $100,000, the annual savings would be around $157. But if that same family earns over $147,000, the savings jump to $429.

The income tax cut effort comes as Gov. Spencer Cox has been pushing for a grocery tax credit. Senate leaders indicated Monday that’s not their top priority.

“That’s still part of the discussion,” Vickers said. “Our number one priority has been and still is income tax.”

Besides Cox’s plan, there are several proposals this session to reduce or eliminate taxes on food.

Also Monday, Senate leaders outlines some of their priorities for the state budget, which will be finalized later this session.

Sen. Jerry Stevenson (R-Layton), who oversees appropriations on the Senate side, said the state has about $290 million in additional ongoing money with more than $1 billion in one-time money.

Stevenson said compensating employees, education, and infrastructure are big priorities, but there are a lot of requests still coming in.

“There will not be a total Christmas list,” Stevenson said. “I can go and sit in my office this afternoon for two hours, take requests, and I will probably land somewhere between $15 and $40 million in new money that we’ve never been asked for, or that I’ve never seen before.”

The budget will be worked on throughout the next few weeks of the legislative session, which runs through March 4.