Seating is limited to 300 attendees, so please register soon. $100 for Taxpayers Association members and $125 for nonmembers:

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Sponsorship opportunities are also available. Contact Heidi for more information at (801) 972-8814 or heidi@utahtaxpayer.org

CONFERENCE HANDOUTS

Rep. Brian King HB 274

Steve Young Letter

Bruce Johnson corporate apportionment (1)

Bruce Johnson (2)History of Multistate Income Tax Apportionment

Steve Young ID HB243

Steve Young SB 124

Dave Davis Info

How should Utah correct the billion dollar RDA problem?

Rep. Handy

Osmond Chart

Stan Lockhart on STEM

Jason Mathis Convention Hotel

Clint Ensign Convention Hotel

Clint Ensign 2

Carlos Braceras

David Patton Medicaid Enrollment and Expenditures – FY 2012

iProvo Article

8:00AM Shotgun Start with lunch to follow.

Foursome — $500
Hole sponsorship including foursome — $1000
Other sponsorship opportunities available. Contact Heidi Erickson at 801-972-8814 or heidi@utahtaxpayers.org with questions.

Mulligans are available for $5 each, maximum of 4 per foursome.

2012
Keith Prescott – Lifetime Service Award

David Crapo – Taxpayer Advocate of the Year

2011
Senator Dan Liljenquist- Taxpayer Advocate Award
In recognition of your work in sponsoring and passing SB 70 to reform Utah’s Medicaid system.

Representative Keith Grover- Profile in Courage Award
In recognition of your work in sponsoring and passing HB 183 which ended taxpayer subsidies for local union representatives.

2010
Senator Dan Liljenquist- Taxpayer Advocate Award
In recognition of your work in sponsoring and passing SB 63 and SB 43 to reform Utah’s Retirement System and solve Utah’s $6.5 billion unfunded pension liability by moving Utah from an unpredictable defined benefit plan to a predictable defined contribution plan.

Senator Wayne Niederhauser- Taxpayer Advocate Award
In recognition of your work in sponsoring and passing SB 38 in 2008 and SB 18 in 2009 to increase transparency in government finance.

Patti Harrington- Lifetime Service Award
In recognition of your lifetime of service to Utah school children and five years of exemplary service as Utah State Superintendent encouraging collaboration in reforming public education.

2009
Representative Carl Wimmer- Taxpayer Advocate Award
For winning enactment of HJR 8- House Joint Resolution Providing Constitutional Protection of the Right to Secret Ballot, Making Utah the First State to Refer the Issue to Voters.

Tax Commission Chair Pam Hendrickson- Excellence in Public Service Award
For twelve years of exemplary service as Commissioner on the State Tax Commission and the last nine years as Chair of the State Tax Commission.

2008
Representative Craig Frank- Taxpayer Advocate Award
For winning enactment of House Bill 75- Inventory and Review of Competitive Activities. HB75 was named by the Reason Foundation as the “Nation’s Best State Privatization Law.”

Senator Mike Dmitrich- Lifetime Service Award
For forty years of distinguished service in the Utah House of Representatives and the Utah Senate and for his constructive and cooperative leadership style as Minority Leader in both houses.

M. Gay Taylor- Excellence in Public Service Award
For twenty-five years of exemplary service in the Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel and leadership as General Counsel for twenty-three years.

2007
Ray Nelson- Excellence in Public Service Award
For developing financial tools and economic modeling which provided the data necessary for the Utah Legislature to reform and significantly reduce state income taxes

Governor Jon Huntsman- Taxpayer Advocate Award
For winning enactment of $225 million in tax cuts during the 2007 legislative session, the largest tax cut package in Utah history.

Utah House of Representatives- Taxpayer Advocate Award
For winning enactment of $225 million in tax cuts during the 2007 legislative session, the largest tax cut package in Utah history.

Utah State Senate- Taxpayer Advocate Award
For winning enactment of $225 million in tax cuts during the 2007 legislative session, the largest tax cut package in Utah history.

2006
Greg Holbrook- Excellence in Public Service Award
For his leadership throughout Utah and the Nation in bringing greater accountability to public education finances.

Representative Greg Hughes- Taxpayer Advocate Award
For his leadership during the 2006 legislative session in resurrecting strategic tax cuts to stimulate economic growth

2005
Governor Olene S. Walker- Lifetime Service Award
For her leadership in creating Utah’s Rainy Day Fund, defeating Initiative 1 and promoting tax reform.

Representative David Clark- Taxpayer Advocate Award
For his leadership in sponsoring and winning passage of House Bill 213- Unused Sick Leave At Retirement Amendments during the 2005 legislative session.

Utah County Commission- Excellence in Public Service Award
For administering the most efficient urban county government in Utah.

FULL 2011 FAST TAX BOOKLET

FULL 2010 FAST TAX BOOKLET

FULL 2009 FAST TAX BOOKLET

FULL 2008 FAST TAX BOOKLET

FULL 2007 FAST TAX BOOKLET

FULL 2006 FAST TAX BOOKLET

FULL 2003 FAST TAX BOOKLET

FULL 2002 FAST TAX BOOKLET

FULL 2001 FAST TAX BOOKLET

The Utah Taxpayers Association publishes an annual Fast Tax booklet to summarize major Utah state and local taxes. The booklet is updated to include yearly revenues. These taxes comprise all major non-federal state revenue sources such as income, sales and fuel taxes, and most major local revenue sources, including property, general sales, and specific sales taxes.

The Utah Taxpayers Association would like to thank the staff of the Utah Tax Commission, Drivers License Division, Division of Public Utilities and the Department of Workforce Services for their cooperation in providing information contained in this reference.

The 2012 Fast Tax reference is sponsored by Parsons Behle & Latimer.

Parsons Behle & Latimer was founded in 1882 and is one of the oldest and best-known law firms in the intermountain region. It provides the resources and capabilities of a large firm, while maintaining the highest levels of accessibility and responsiveness. With over 100 attorneys, Parsons, Behle & Latimer maintains offices in Salt Lake City, Utah Las Vegas, Nevada and Reno, Nevada. The firm has a wide range of expertise and experience in each of its seven major practice areas: Litigation; Environmental, Energy & Natural Resources; Corporate & Tax; Intellectual Property & Technology; Real Estate, Banking & Finance; and Employment.

2013 Utah Taxpayers Association Legislative Watchlist

2012 Utah Taxpayers Association Legislative Watchlist

2011 Utah Taxpayers Association Legislative Watchlist

2010 Utah Taxpayers Association Legislative Watchlist

2009 Utah Taxpayers Association Legislative Watchlist

• Vote YES on 1st Sub HB 54 — Property Tax and Appraiser Amendments
• Vote NO on HB 246 — Expanded Uses of School District Property Tax Revenue
• Vote NO on SB 267 — New Convention Hotel Development Incentive Act

2012 Legislative Alerts

• Vote YES on SB 27 — Amendments to Revenue and Taxation Title
• Vote NO on SB 31– Classroom Size Amendments
• Vote NO on 1S SB 211– Earned Income Tax Credit and Related Funding
• Vote NO on HB 81 — City or Town Option Sales and Use Tax Amendments
• Vote NO on HB 101– Tax Credits for Employing a Homeless Person
• Vote YES on 1S HB 210 — Severance Tax Amendments
• Vote NO on HB 250 — Tax Credit for Dependent with Disability
• Vote NO on HB 258 — Education Funding Amendments
• Vote YES on 2nd Sub HJR 6 — Joint Resolution on Severance Taxes
• Vote YES on 1S HJR 14 — Joint Resolution Urging Congress to Support Equity and Sales Tax Fairness

2011 Legislative Alerts

Vote NO on SB 320– Spending Severance Tax Revenue
Vote NO on HB 98 — Spending Capital Outlay Funding for M&O
Vote NO on SB 82 — Tax Shift for Urban Farming
Vote NO on HB 264 — Open Primary Elections for State School Board
Vote YES on HB 183 — No Education Tax Dollars for Union Reps
Vote YES on HB 138 — Federal Receipts Reporting Requirements
Vote YES on SB 253 — State Hospital Amendments
Vote YES on HB 226 — Eliminate the Salt Lake Police Fee

2010 Legislative Alerts

Vote YES on SB 77 — No Education Tax Dollars for Union Reps
Vote YES on SB 55 — Allow Higher Ed to Authorize Charter Schools
Vote NO on HB 196 — No Tobacco Tax Increases
Vote NO on SB 40 — No Tobacco Tax Increases

Your Taxpayers Association compiles and provides financial and statistical data for Utah’s school districts and charter schools. This information shows how school districts compare with other districts.

2013 Utah School District Comparison

2012 Utah School District Comparison

2011 Utah School District Comparison

2010 Utah School District Comparison

2009 Utah School District Comparison

2008 Utah School District Comparison

2007 Utah School District Comparison

2006 Utah School District Comparison

2005 Utah School District Comparison

2004 Utah School District Comparison

2003 Utah School District Comparison

2002 Utah School District Comparison

It’s “only” $4 a month.

That’s what proponents of a tax increase in Orem are saying.

Or “only” $48 a year.

Who can’t afford 48 bucks?

That’s “only” about 13 cents a day.

What could possibly be wrong with that?

Actually, everything is wrong with that logic.

Maybe you saw the story about the feud that’s brewing in Orem. Residents are upset the city wants to raise their property taxes to pay for a poorly named fiber optic network called UTOPIA.

The issue has sparked protests and what one resident called a certain amount of “incivility” and “negativity” in the city. People are upset. City Council meetings have been SRO. More than 5,000 Orem residents signed a petition to force a property-tax referendum in November 2013. That means the tax increase will be frozen until after the referendum. City officials are sweating bullets.

What’s the big deal about a few cents a day, they wonder?

That sort of thinking is the problem — and the genius of the tax system.

Don’t you see what’s happening here? Taxes are raised incrementally, so nobody notices. A little this year, a little next year, a little the year after that. A little more for the county, a little more for the city, a little more for the state, a little more for the feds. Everybody’s got their hands out asking for just a little, so nobody gets upset, and look where it’s left us after decades of asking. In 2009, a median-income American family of two parents and three children paid 25.3 percent of its income to federal, state and local government. One-fourth of its income.

It began with a few cents. And a few more cents. And a few more cents.

Where does it end? Or does it? It’s a long-running story without an ending.

“That’s the argument people will make,” says Royce Van Tassell of the Utah Taxpayers Association. “It’s only $4 or $5 a month. They’re like gas stations that charge $3.77 and 9/10s instead of $3.78. It looks smaller. It’s easier to market to the public.”

That’s why local governments prefer to raise sales taxes instead of property taxes — they can nickel and dime citizens every time they shop and people don’t even realize someone is reaching into their wallets. It’s much subtler than property and income taxes.

“People don’t recognize they’re actually paying more in sales tax than in state and property taxes,” says Van Tassell. “They don’t even pay attention to it.”

Government officials are like carpenters who think that everything can be fixed with a hammer; everything can be cured by gentle tax increases.

The Orem City Council has been adept at this and sly from the start in its attempt to pay for UTOPIA, according to Hans Andersen, the Orem rookie city councilman who has been unwilling to play ball with his peers. He says he was called to an early morning meeting in January, shortly after taking office, with Mayor Jim Evans and councilwoman Mary Street. To his surprise, they discussed raising property taxes — by about $9.90 a month — behind closed doors. Andersen says he later was told this was all confidential.

“I emailed them and told them this confidentiality thing doesn’t apply to me,” he says. “The only reason you’ve done this is because the city is embarrassed and doesn’t want the public to know about it. Nothing in that meeting should be kept from the public.”

Andersen says the City Council met again in June and voted 6-1 for an $8.08 monthly increase in property taxes, with Andersen the lone dissenter. Says Andersen, “What they didn’t tell people is that the payment to UTOPIA would increase 2 percent per year, from $2.8 million this year to $4.9 million in 2040, which means they’ll have to continue to raise taxes. They decided, we can’t sell the whole thing, so let’s give them a little to start with, then come back in a few years and get more. They knew the public couldn’t swallow the whole pill.”

A little at a time.

On Aug. 14, some 600 people jammed a City Council meeting on this issue, and about 200 of them were still there when it ended at 2:30 a.m. The council voted on a $4.04 a month tax increase — another marketing ploy.

“They’ll have to come back for more,” says Andersen. “They were just trying to make it more palatable.”

What began as a $10 increase became an $8 increase and then a $4 increase.

Andersen voted against it. “I want the citizens to vote on it,” he says.

Last December, even before he officially took office, Andersen sent an email and a pie to council members trying to persuade them to let citizens vote on the issue. In the end, he had to resort to something more officious to make it happen: He and friend Wayne Burr organized the referendum. Finally, people will have a say about that $4.

To view the article on the Deseret News website, click here.