The Lord created the earth in 7 days. I will try to rebut the Utah Taxpayers Associations condescending opinion with 7 key points. Remember, according to the Utah Taxpayers Association, 70-80% of Utahans are “misinformed” in wanting to overturn the Utah 2019 Tax reform bill. Over 250 registered voters, about 12% of all Emery County voters, have signed the referendum in just two days. I honestly can’t get to everyone who is against this bill fast enough. The Taxpayers Association knows better than the unread taxpayers of Emery County, and they are here to set us straight.
Who are the actual members/contributors to the Utah Taxpayers association? It sure as heck isn’t Joe Q taxpayer. Its contributors include some of the biggest companies and associations in Utah.
I know Comcast and Qwest are members: thus streaming services using their networks are taxed in the bill, however, the actual internet service provider is not.
I know Utah Realtor Association is: thus no tax on real estate services, construction services and landscaping services.
I know there are several law and accounting associations and firms: therefore, no service sales tax on law or accounting firms.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to pay more in taxes for ANY of these services. However, by the same account, I don’t want to pay more taxes for pet and veterinary services, streaming services, towing services, textbook services etc. So, why tax some and not others?
- Remember: the original mantra of the tax task force was to broaden the base and lower the rate. THE RATE WAS NOT LOWERED. The base was NOT BROADENED but narrowly defined and targeted by SB 2001. The special interest groups lobbied and got their way while services that couldn’t afford lobbying groups, like the Utah Taxpayers Association, were left to foot the bill. There was a great clamor on how sales tax revenue is falling. The truth, according to the latest numbers from the State Tax Commission, is that sales tax is up 9.3% and that doesn’t include internet sales taxes yet to be collected and accounted for. The basis for the Tax Reform Bill is built on a false premise.
- Rusty Cannon as VP of this organization wrote the article. He resigned from his previous job amidst allegations of fraud. According to the SEC complaint filed against him in 2012, “This matter involves a fraudulent scheme to artificially inflate the assets of a hedge fund.” WHO better to lecture us, the unlearned average taxpayer, on how the bill will fraudulently fleece us out of our hard earned wages? To quote the piece, “We need to do all we can to educate and inform the public.” I’m not sure that Emery county taxpayers need to be educated by well paid corporate and fraudulent men like Mr. Rusty Cannon.
- Again to quote the Utah Taxpayer piece, “Sound tax policy seeks to have equity in the system.” There is ZERO EQUITY in the TaxReform Bill SB 2001. I have already mentioned the inequities of what new service taxes are to be placed on our backs. I should mention the 177% increase in unprepared food sales tax. I can avoid the new services being taxed if I want, but no one, ESPECIALLY the working class, kids just starting out and the elderly on fixed incomes, can avoid tax raises on life sustaining food. These taxes are just the beginning. I will discuss the fuel tax in point #7.
- Let’s look at specific tax cuts compared to the tax increases. Yes, Mr. Cannon, Emery county tax payers have read the bill, have you? He claims the bill will give huge tax cuts to low and middle wage earners. The only way to get your rebate is to fill out the correct form. Remember, these people are so poor or are elderly on fixed incomes and they do not file taxes. They will not see any of the tax cuts, and because they are not filing, they will not receive the “rebate” on food. Think how silly a rebate is. Your food tax is nearly tripled being raised by 177%, then a portion of the tax that you were forced to pay will be given back to you at a later date. Realize you are too poor to pay the tax in the first place; that’s why you qualify for the rebate. Of course, you will now be required to fill out paperwork to get it.
- What about the hard working taxpayers? They will get a tax break, right? It depends. As you read the bill, you see where the tax cuts are coming from. The tax cut is .0029% of your taxable income with increased credits for dependents. The tax cut is 490 million according to Mr. Rusty Cannon’s math, I’m sure that is credible…. Let us say that is correct. There are 3.25 million people in Utah. So, your tax cut is about $150 a year per person. However, remember, this is not evenly distributed. The rebates and other tax exemptions will lower or raise this depending on circumstances. Of course, people making six figures will see a greater tax cut than those making just above the poverty line. Those with more dependents will see more tax cuts than the young single student or minimum wage earner, empty nesters, retired people on fixed incomes, or single mothers who by receiving child support will not be able to use the child tax deduction. So yes, if you make six figures and have a lot of deductions, you may see a tax cut, depending on your food, fuel and new service taxes. Rusty Cannon, these are not the people of Emery County. We are the only county in the state that has seen a decline in income over the last 10 years. We are the $40-60,000 wage earners just above the poverty line, who will not qualify for your rebates. We are couples with no more deductions, who love our families and have seen our beloved children move away for the lack of high paying jobs in our area. The majority of people here will not see the big tax cut you speak of.
- Utah has a state constitution that Mr. Rusty Cannon and his taxpayers association might want to read sometime. The $490 million in tax cuts that the majority of Emery County tax payers will not see will come from income tax revenues that are dedicated and must be used, by the Utah Constitution, to fund education. In a state that is 50th in spending per pupil and 47th in teacher salaries, you want to cut that portion of the budget? What an unsound, inequitable tax policy. The taxpayers with the most students and the greatest benefactors of the education system are going to pay the least amount of taxes earmarked for education. A principal in our district stated, “One of my biggest worries about the lack of funding in education for Emery County is that we lack the ability to attract and retain good teachers unless they have roots here. We can’t compete with the salaries of the larger districts in the state, and because of the teacher shortage, that means that we are scraping the bottom when we hire. Our district is aging and will see many retirements in the next few years. If funding doesn’t improve, the quality of education in the county will take a hit because of the lack of human capital coming into the district.”
- Food taxes are going up 177%. New taxes on services will be levied on us. Fuel taxes will be raised and double taxed. This will really affect us in rural Utah. We have diesel trucks, we have farm equipment that runs on diesel, we work for and own trucking companies. We drive long distances for medical services not offered in our area. The pump price has a 31.1 cents a gallon state tax currently for both gas and diesel. If Mr. Rusty Cannon read the bill, he would see that the rack rate will have sales tax going from 0 to 4.85%. It is projected over the course of a year that would translate into an additional 12 cents a gallon passed on to customers at the pump. Our local legislators fought to keep the increase of double taxation off fuel the best they could, but they are outnumbered at the capital. In addition, diesel will have a 6 cent raising to 10 cents per gallon (in one year) surcharge tax applied raising the at the pump tax to 41.1 cents per gallon. Yes, you are reading this correctly. We will see fuel be double taxed, and those taxes will be increasing over time as the price goes up. Thus farmers, trucking companies and diesel truck owners can expect to pay state fuel taxes up to 53.1 cents a gallon. Unprepared food and fuel are necessities in rural Utah. It is not viable to stop eating and moving to avoid taxation.
Full disclosure, I am a 24-year veteran teacher. I love this community and have taught several of you. I believe there is no greater blessing than to see someone learn something new or understand something they thought was too difficult to comprehend. Thank each of you in my community for allowing me the privilege of helping our most precious commodity, our children.
Please let us unite as a community, as taxpayers, and sign the referendum to repeal this regressive tax reform package Mr. Rusty Cannon and the Utah Taxpayers Association love so dearly.
Tom Hansen
Elmo, Utah
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