Tax and Budget

Open Letter to the Utah Legislature

February 23, 2017

Dear Senators and Representatives:

We, the undersigned organizations, urge you to consider the impact of any tax reform proposal on Utah’s most vulnerable populations.

We wish to make two important points in this regard:

1. We support the additional public revenues that could result from tax reform because Utah would benefit from increasing our investment in our most vulnerable populations.
2. Tax reform that increases the burden on low-income sectors of our population will do more harm than good for people struggling to pay for the basic necessities of life.

New Revenues Are Needed

The Utah Foundation has found that Utah’s overall tax burden is at a multi-decade low. As a result, funding for critically needed public services has suffered in many areas, including:

• K-12 education – where we remain last in the nation in per-pupil funding
• Pre-K – where Utah remains behind the nation in the percentage of at-risk children who have access to high-quality Pre-K.
• Higher education – where tuition continues to climb much faster than wages.
• Drug treatment and mental health – where underinvestment threatens to undermine criminal justice reform.
• Affordable housing – where state funding has not kept up with the effects of inflation, while rents rise faster than wages.
• Homelessness – though we are encouraged to see the emerging consensus on the urgency of action.
• Disability services – where starting wages for disabilities service workers remain below levels needed to reduce high turnover. 
• Health care – where Utah children are uninsured at a higher rate than nationally and Hispanic children at a higher rate than any other state. 

Low-Income Populations Should Be Held Harmless by Tax Reform 

No one should be taxed into or deeper into poverty. So many of the individuals and families that we work with already struggle to keep a roof over their heads and food on the table. They already pay sales, payroll, and property taxes (either directly or indirectly through their rent), and many pay income taxes as well. To ask them to pay more, especially at a time of growing inequality and a minimum wage that loses value every year, is unfair and unjustifiable.

We urge the Legislature to consider the financial barriers faced by Utah’s most vulnerable populations as you grapple with the difficult challenge of reforming Utah’s tax structure.

Printer-friendly Version:

Open Letter to the Utah Legislature: Tax Reform and Utah's Most Vulnerable Populations

Image Credit: Amanda Mills, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

For 30 years now, Voices for Utah Children has called on our state, federal and local leaders to put children’s needs first. But the work is not done. The children of 30 years ago now have children of their own. Too many of these children are growing up in poverty, without access to healthcare or quality educational opportunities.

How can you be involved?

Make a tax-deductible donation to Voices for Utah Children—or join our Network with a monthly donation of $20 or more.  Network membership includes complimentary admission to Network events with food, socializing, and opportunity to meet child advocacy experts. And don't forget to join our listserv to stay informed!

We look forward to the future of Voices for Utah Children and we hope you will be a part of our next 30 years.

Special thanks to American Express, our "Making a Difference All Year Long" sponsor. 

Voices for Utah Children Supports HB 294, the Utah Intergenerational Poverty Work and Self-sufficiency Tax Credit. HB 294 strengthens Utah’s groundbreaking Intergenerational Poverty (IGP) initiative with an Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). Twenty-six other states across the nation and across the political spectrum have already created state EITCs, boosting work, independence, and self-sufficiency for low-income families. Utah should too, starting with our most at-risk population, the 37,512 adults and 57,602 kids grappling with intergenerational poverty (comprising 25% of all adults receiving public assistance, 62% of whom worked in 2015).

How would the IGP EITC work? (HB 294)

It would create a state EITC for IGP families that work, qualify for the federal EITC, and file their state taxes

How much would families receive?

10% of the federal EITC: ~$250 on average, up to ~$600, depending on income and # of kids

For more information, see the complete factsheet:

Vote Yes on HB 294: The IGP EITC

For 30 years now, Voices for Utah Children has called on our state, federal and local leaders to put children’s needs first. But the work is not done. The children of 30 years ago now have children of their own. Too many of these children are growing up in poverty, without access to healthcare or quality educational opportunities.

How can you be involved?

Make a tax-deductible donation to Voices for Utah Children—or join our Network with a monthly donation of $20 or more.  Network membership includes complimentary admission to Network events with food, socializing, and opportunity to meet child advocacy experts. And don't forget to join our listserv to stay informed!

We look forward to the future of Voices for Utah Children and we hope you will be a part of our next 30 years.

Special thanks to American Express, our "Making a Difference All Year Long" sponsor. 

New factsheets by the University of Utah School of Medicine describe two policy solutions that would help Utah families obtain healthcare they need to plan and space their pregnancies in order to better achieve the best health outcomes for the mother and child. In addition to promoting health, these solutions are cost-effective.

A Medicaid State Plan Amendment (SPA) allows family planning coverage for individuals that do not qualify for full Medicaid benefits. Expanding family planning coverage would maximize the the federal match and support the health of Utah families. There are 28 states that take advantage of the option to offer family planning coverage for individuals that do not qualify for full Medicaid benefits. These existing programs have proven to be budget neutral or cost-saving.

Long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARC) are highly effective contraception devices with minimal side effects that can be safely inserted immediately following delivery or during the mother's hospital stay. However, current Medicaid reimbursement procedures create a disincentive to offering LARC in this context. Unbundling LARC insertions from the global fee could improve access to this effective option.

For more information, see the complete fact sheets:

Expanding Family Planning Coverage with Medicaid

Expanding Options for Postpartum Contraception

For 30 years now, Voices for Utah Children has called on our state, federal and local leaders to put children’s needs first. But the work is not done. The children of 30 years ago now have children of their own. Too many of these children are growing up in poverty, without access to healthcare or quality educational opportunities.

How can you be involved?

Make a tax-deductible donation to Voices for Utah Children—or join our Network with a monthly donation of $20 or more.  Network membership includes complimentary admission to Network events with food, socializing, and opportunity to meet child advocacy experts. And don't forget to join our listserv to stay informed!

We look forward to the future of Voices for Utah Children and we hope you will be a part of our next 30 years.

Special thanks to American Express, our "Making a Difference All Year Long" sponsor. 

The 2018 Utah Legislative Session will take place from January 22 to March 8, with 45 days chock full of long committee meetings, urgent Action Alerts, conversations between community members and legislators, demonstrations on the steps of the State Capitol Building and much more! 

We'll be following a lot of different bills during the 2018 session, not all of which will be made public before the session officially begins. Some bills are introduced with language that we support, and then that language changes over the course of the legislative process. Occasionally, the changes are subtantial enough to warrant a change in our position. We will do our best to keep this list of bills - as well as our positions - updated for your information, but it can be tricky when things are so busy for our staff during this crazy time of year. 

We are working on several bills that will be priorities for us in 2018. You can learn more about these priority legislative proposals by clicking on the topic links below. 

Tax and Budget Issues

Creating a State Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)

Restoring Investment in Children

Health Issues

12-Month Continuous Eligibility for Utah Kids with Medicaid

Maternal Health

Oral Health

Health Coverage

Early Childhood Care & Education Issues

High Quality Child Care

Governance and Coordination of Early Childcare Services

Juvenile Justice Issues

Implementing Juvenile Justice Reform

Bills

News Contact Lawmakers  Sign Up for E-AlertsFollow @utchildren

For 30 years now, Voices for Utah Children has called on our state, federal and local leaders to put children’s needs first. But the work is not done. The children of 30 years ago now have children of their own. Too many of these children are growing up in poverty, without access to healthcare or quality educational opportunities.

How can you be involved?

Make a tax-deductible donation to Voices for Utah Children—or join our Network with a monthly donation of $20 or more.  Network membership includes complimentary admission to Network events with food, socializing, and opportunity to meet child advocacy experts. And don't forget to join our listserv to stay informed!

We look forward to the future of Voices for Utah Children and we hope you will be a part of our next 30 years.

For Printable Version Maternal Mental Health Support Flyer

For 30 years now, Voices for Utah Children has called on our state, federal and local leaders to put children’s needs first. But the work is not done. The children of 30 years ago now have children of their own. Too many of these children are growing up in poverty, without access to healthcare or quality educational opportunities.

How can you be involved?

Make a tax-deductible donation to Voices for Utah Children—or join our Network with a monthly donation of $20 or more.  Network membership includes complimentary admission to Network events with food, socializing, and opportunity to meet child advocacy experts. And don't forget to join our listserv to stay informed!

We look forward to the future of Voices for Utah Children and we hope you will be a part of our next 30 years.

Special thanks to American Express, our "Making a Difference All Year Long" sponsor. 

The federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) lifts 60,000 Utahns out of poverty each year, half of them children, by letting low-income families keep more of what they earn.

EITC helps working families make ends meet.

EITC keeps families working.

EITC reduces poverty, especially among children.

EITC put $426 mil. back into Utah’s economy in 2017.

A state EITC targeted to families living in intergenerational poverty (IGP) will give a boost to the 25,000 working families who qualify for the federal EITC and file state taxes.

It will ensure that eligible working families receive 10% of federal EITC - up to $640 depending on income and number of children.

A state EITC may increase participation in the federal EITC. Only 75% of tax filers take advantage of the federal EITC

No bureaucracy or staff to administer.

FISCAL IMPACT

$6 million from General Fund which is a small portion of the over $25 million in state and local taxes paid every year by these working families.

Simply put, 58,820 children identified as living in intergenerational poverty amounts to $102 per child.

STATES WITH A STATE EITC

Twenty-nine states across the nation and political spectrum have created state EITCs.

EITC has strong bipartisan support

 “… the proposed EITC helps people who are ready and able to help themselves escape intergenerational poverty through work…It is both sound economic policy and prudent welfare policy… It is good for those in poverty, good for the economy, and good for taxpayers as well.” Sutherland Institute

“I know of no public policy innovation over the past 30 years to help low-income individuals that has as much promise as Utah’s intergenerational poverty work. When combined with an EITC, Utah will be able to show the nation how public policies that are targeted, incentivize work, are fiscally constrained and include measurable outcomes are the best way to help families and children with great need.”

Natalie Gochnour

Associate Dean, David Eccles School of Business,

University of Utah, Deseret News column, March 1, 2018

For 30 years now, Voices for Utah Children has called on our state, federal and local leaders to put children’s needs first. But the work is not done. The children of 30 years ago now have children of their own. Too many of these children are growing up in poverty, without access to healthcare or quality educational opportunities.

How can you be involved?

Make a tax-deductible donation to Voices for Utah Children—or join our Network with a monthly donation of $20 or more.  Network membership includes complimentary admission to Network events with food, socializing, and opportunity to meet child advocacy experts. And don't forget to join our listserv to stay informed!

We look forward to the future of Voices for Utah Children and we hope you will be a part of our next 30 years.

Special thanks to American Express, our "Making a Difference All Year Long" sponsor. 

In January 2015, the Utah Foundation reported that Utah’s overall tax burden, including all state and local taxes and fees, had fallen to its lowest level in at least 20 years: “Over the past several years, tax cuts have reduced Utah’s annual revenues by $479 million.” 

As a result, our investment in education remains well below pre-recession levels. Per-pupil state formula funding for K-12 education is down 11.9% from FY 2008 to 2017 (the current fiscal year). This 11.9% drop measures just the state contribution that constitutes two-thirds of our total public education budget. But the picture is no better when we look at the older data that include both state and local funding, which showed us seventh worst in the nation with a 17% drop in per-pupil expenditure for 2008-2014. The Voices for Utah Children's Utah Children’s Budget Report 2015 found that FY2014 real state spending per child remained 6% below pre-recession levels. Moreover, investment in K-12 education in particular has actually fallen in real terms since the 2008-2009 recession, before even accounting for the 7% growth in the number of children in Utah from FY2008 to FY2014.

While everyone enjoys paying lower taxes and having more dollars in our pockets today, these findings raise important questions about whether the current generation of Utahns is doing its part, as earlier generations did, to invest in our children and lay the foundations for Utah’s future growth and prosperity.

Moreover, recent data on high school graduation rates and college degrees raise warning signs that should concern all Utahns. Every racial and ethnic group in our state — including our two largest populations, whites and Hispanics — is below national averages for high school graduation rates. At the level of higher education, Utah’s share of college degrees among our younger generation has not kept up with the increases seen nationally.

Opponents of new education revenues have for years counseled patience, assuring us that the economic boom that will generate new public education revenues is just around the corner or perhaps just another tax cut away. How long will we wait and watch our educational performance suffer — endangering our future prosperity — before taking seriously the challenge before us?

Printer-friendly Version:

2017 Children's Fiscal Policy Agenda

More Information:

Utah Tax Reform Proposals: Who Wins and Who Loses?

Tax Reform and Utah's Most Vulnerable Populations

For 30 years now, Voices for Utah Children has called on our state, federal and local leaders to put children’s needs first. But the work is not done. The children of 30 years ago now have children of their own. Too many of these children are growing up in poverty, without access to healthcare or quality educational opportunities.

How can you be involved?

Make a tax-deductible donation to Voices for Utah Children—or join our Network with a monthly donation of $20 or more.  Network membership includes complimentary admission to Network events with food, socializing, and opportunity to meet child advocacy experts. And don't forget to join our listserv to stay informed!

We look forward to the future of Voices for Utah Children and we hope you will be a part of our next 30 years.

Special thanks to American Express for sponsoring our 30th Anniversary Year. 

For 30 years now, Voices for Utah Children has called on our state, federal and local leaders to put children’s needs first. But the work is not done. The children of 30 years ago now have children of their own. Too many of these children are growing up in poverty, without access to healthcare or quality educational opportunities.

How can you be involved?

Make a tax-deductible donation to Voices for Utah Children—or join our Network with a monthly donation of $20 or more.  Network membership includes complimentary admission to Network events with food, socializing, and opportunity to meet child advocacy experts. And don't forget to join our listserv to stay informed!

We look forward to the future of Voices for Utah Children and we hope you will be a part of our next 30 years.

Special thanks to American Express, our "Making a Difference All Year Long" sponsor. 

Yesterday, Governor Herbert released his annual state budget recommendations.

The staff of Voices for Utah children found several reasons to be encouraged by his proposals.

We support the Governor and his team for their commitment to social services, and our most vulnerable children and families. Specifically, we applaud the Governor’s fiscally-prudent step to support family planning. This will have important benefits for families, including those in intergenerational poverty. With this investment, the state can expect to see savings by 2019. We thank the Governor for his leadership on this issue critical to children and families.

As an organization dedicated to helping all Utah children and families succeed, we believe that our social safety net provides a critical role to help families who have fallen on hard times get back on their feet. As noted in the Budget Recommendations, Utah has a “longstanding social fabric of self-determination.”

Our state budget priorities should support families’ ability to access and utilize public benefits in their time of need. Utah has the highest rate of children who are eligible for CHIP and Medicaid, but not enrolling in public programs. These children are uninsured and not able to benefit from health care services.

As the Governor declares, “the most effective programs, in terms of both quality outcomes and costs, prioritize preventative service delivery.” We strongly support the Governor’s focus. Health insurance coverage is the foundation to build successful prevention initiatives. We must strengthen and support our health insurance programs so that families and children can achieve their optimal health.

We are encouraged by the Governor’s recognition that early childhood is the cornerstone for lifelong learning. We support the Governor’s appropriation for the Baby Watch Early Intervention program as a critical first step. We look forward to seeing the Governor’s 10-year education plan, and hope the Governor will maintain his commitment to early childhood, so that we can establish a strong foundation for children’s healthy development, setting them up for success in school and beyond.

Voices for Utah Children welcomes Governor Herbert’s call in his FY2018 Budget Recommendations to conduct a comprehensive review of the state’s overall tax structure. In the section entitled “Taxation and a Free Market Economy” on page 9-12 (pages 13-16 of the pdf), there is an extended discussion of the trends and challenges facing Utah in terms of taxes and public revenues. The report highlights the downward trend in Utah’s overall level of taxation (including all state and local taxes and fees) and refers to the growing public sentiment that current revenues fall short of meeting the state’s minimum needs. The Governor declares his intention to address this pressing challenge with two concrete actions:
1. “the Governor will be establishing a task force of business leaders and education stakeholders to develop a comprehensive solution that aligns Utah’s tax structure with the modern economy (not just a rate increase), and
2. will request that the Tax Review Commission study and make recommendations regarding the state’s current tax structure, including alternatives for aligning the tax structure with the modern economy and identifying and reviewing tax credits, tax exemptions, tax exclusions, and other preferential tax loopholes.” (page 12)

The Governor and his team should be applauded for addressing these issues so thoughtfully and directly in the Budget Recommendations document and for his intent to convene further study and discussion about how to address this challenge going forward. In other states across the nation and across the political spectrum, the presence or absence of gubernatorial leadership has been a critical factor in determining whether states have been able to address their pressing challenges.

Voices for Utah Children has for a number of years raised the question of whether the current generation of Utahns is doing its part, as earlier generations did, to set aside sufficient resources each year to invest in the building blocks of our future growth and prosperity. Utah’s longstanding commitment to fiscal responsibility should extend beyond balanced budgets and strong bond ratings to also include taking responsibility for making the necessary investments today that reap benefits for future generations in the years and decades to come.

The complete document is available here:

Budget Recommendations Fiscal Year 2018

For 30 years now, Voices for Utah Children has called on our state, federal and local leaders to put children’s needs first. But the work is not done. The children of 30 years ago now have children of their own. Too many of these children are growing up in poverty, without access to healthcare or quality educational opportunities.

How can you be involved?

Make a tax-deductible donation to Voices for Utah Children—or join our Network with a monthly donation of $20 or more.  Network membership includes complimentary admission to Network events with food, socializing, and opportunity to meet child advocacy experts. And don't forget to join our listserv to stay informed!

We look forward to the future of Voices for Utah Children and we hope you will be a part of our next 30 years.

Special thanks to American Express, our "Making a Difference All Year Long" sponsor.