Checking In At The Legislature:
Tax Reform Update And Survey

Dear Friends and Neighbors, 

The legislature is anticipating a special legislative session on December 11th to vote on a proposed tax restructure. 

In this newsletter, I have included links for 
1. The latest DRAFT of the bill (look for strikes or highlighted areas denoting changes) 
2. A summary of changes to our tax structure
3. A news article by Bob Bernick on why the tax restructuring is essential
4. Support from the State School Board for tax reform.
5. A statement of support from the Utah Veterinarian Medical Association
6. A SURVEY to get your input. 

PLEASE READ THE INCLUDED BILL SUMMARY AND LINKS BEFORE TAKING THE SURVEY so that you understand the current DRAFT we are considering. 

FYI- About 30 pages of the 195-page bill is the amount of proposed change to our existing tax statute.  

This proposed tax bill would restore the food tax that Governor Huntsman reduced in 2008, and adds grocery refund up to $1,000 for low and middle-class families. It eliminates some previous tax exemptions, like on diesel fuel and college athletic events. It adds a Social Security tax credit under a certain income and exempts tax from feminine hygiene products. It reduces individual and corporate income taxes, and compensates families with tax credits to make up for the repealed federal tax credit that was federally eliminated for dependents. It will also include a budget shift to create consistent funding for education (details of the education proposal to come next week). 

Most importantly, it is much simpler than what was proposed during the 2019 legislature and even what was proposed last month. 

THIS IS STILL A DRAFT. 
There have been 3 years of work, and months of a special tax task force to work with community members to find a better proposal. I NEED YOUR INPUT FROM THE SURVEY. 

I’ll send a November newsletter with the survey summary and a November update. 

I look forward to your feedback. 

- Melissa 

Survey On Tax Reform

• To read a summary of the bill, click here. 
• To read the bill in full, click here. 
• To read an article about our current tax system and why we need to take a look at it, click here.
• To read a statement of support from the State School Board, click here. 
• To read the statement of support from the Utah Veterinarian Medical Association, click here.