February 22, 2021

Tax Cut Survey Results

Voices for Utah Children Releases Tax Cut Survey Results:

90% Support Investing In Utah Kids Rather Than Tax Cuts

Salt Lake City -- Today, February 23, 2021, Voices for Utah Children released the current results of our Tax Cut Survey.

The Tax Cut Survey is an online survey open to the public and posted at https://utahchildren.org/newsroom/speaking-of-kids-blog/item/1112-tax-cut-survey. The survey has been advertised to hundreds of thousands of Utahns through ads in the Deseret News and Salt Lake Tribune that included graphics like this one: 

 Tax Survey 300x250 Laneta

THE RESULTS.... (drum roll please....)

So far, hundreds of Utahns from all over the state have participated in the survey, which consists of two questions: 

1.When it comes to tax cuts, is your overall opinion closer to A or B (select one)

A. We should invest in Utah kids -- their education, healthcare, and other critical needs -- rather than tax cuts, especially in light of the fact that Utah's taxes are already at a 50-year low.

B,   We should continue cutting taxes because state government has more than enough resources to accomplish what it needs to accomplish. 

90% of survey participants chose A, and 10% chose B, as illustrated in the following pie chart graphic:

TaxCutSurvey90 10chart

In question 2, the survey asked: "How would you rank the following seven possible tax cuts?"

Participants ranked the seven options as follows, in order from most popular to least popular:

1) One-time Utah tax rebates for low incomes ($200/person)

2) Utah EITC -- a state match for the federal Earned Income Tax Credit for low and moderate incomes

3) One-time Utah tax rebates for low and moderate incomes ($100/person)

4) Military pension and Social Security tax credit for low-income retirees

5) Child tax exemption expansion for middle- and upper-income families with children

6) Military pension and Social Security tax credit for high-income retirees

7) Income tax rate reduction (mostly benefits high-income households)

The survey webpage also includes a detailed description of each of the proposals, including bill numbers for some of the items.

WHAT DO THESE RESULTS MEAN?

The response to the first question -- a strong public disinclination to support tax cuts -- is consistent with three surveys done in 2020 -- all of which were rigorous public opinion surveys intended to accurately reflect the views of Utahns in all their diversity, unlike this open, online survey. Those three surveys last year were conducted by the Deseret News and Hinckley Institute, by the Utah Foundation, and by Envision Utah, and they all found a similar strong popular preference for public investment over tax cuts. A new survey this month by the Deseret News and Hinckley Institute also found majority support for investing in Utah's future rather than cutting taxes. 

The response to the second question -- a clear inclination to favor tax cuts for lower-income Utahns over tax cuts for upper-income Utahns -- runs counter to the plans outlined by Legislative leaders this week to pass tax cuts that mostly benefit upper income Utahns and exclude lower-income Utahns from tax relief. A detailed analysis of two of those proposals is on the Voices for Utah Children website.

Survey participants were offered the opportunity to share their location and any additional thoughts, and here are some of the comments that were left:

  • A survey participant from Clearfield commented, "I love EITC. It helps those who need it most and rewards people for working. If this passes, I would really like to see more singles and older couples who are not currently included in federal EITC included. This may be a targeted way to help low-income seniors."
  • A survey participant from Mt. Pleasant commented, "I am a US Army Reserve retiree. Every year the State of Utah gouges me for more than the feds Give the military, especially the lower income USAR retirees a tax break."
  • A survey participant from Sandy commented, "We need to invest in getting people out of poverty!"
  • A survey participant from Millcreek commented, "My # 1 would be removing the sales tax on food completely."
  • A survey participant from Pleasant Grove commented, "invest in services and affordable starter homes; it's a Pandemic! and the need is so great for Utah families with low to mid incomes."
  • A survey participant from West Jordan commented, "I believe we need to leave the taxes alone for now and take care of our low income citizens.  Our DSPD [disability services] waitlist is shameful and individuals are waiting for services."
  • A survey participant from Midvale commented, "I'm okay with paying my taxes. If you want to look at a place where people don't pay enough taxes, look at India. Look at Russia, look at Mexico. Let's make sure that money collected by the government is being spent on families, education, healthcare and keeping our cities and towns running efficiently and effectively for EVERYONE. We know that trickledown economics has a limited effect and let's not let the highest earners amongst us allow themselves to imagine that somehow the proportion of what they are able to take from the system should be greater than what they need to pay into the system - like the rest of us."
  • A survey participant from Brigham City commented, "Tax the rich people MORE!!!"
  • A survey participant from Sandy commented, "We don't need a tax cut. We need to increase taxes specifically to provide additional help to low income families, especially children in low income families, and especially those at or below the poverty line."
  • A survey participant from Provo commented, "Successful business people invest in their businesses. Successful citizens invest in their children"
  • A survey participant from Sandy commented, "I am single income, no kids (SINK) and my taxes are awful.  However, I definitely want to help low income families."
  • A survey participant from Spanish Fork commented, "Eliminate taxes on Social security benefits."
  • A survey participant from Farmington commented, "I do not favor reinstating sales tax on food."
  • A survey participant from Holladay commented, "tax rebates are stupid, one-time cash gifts when SO MANY public sectors dealing with education and the homeless need to be funded!"

Voices for Utah Children's Fiscal Policy Director Matthew Weinstein commented, "Political leaders are calling for tax cuts, but average Utahns are not. Utahns see the state of our schools and the unmet needs in so many areas of public responsibility. Utahns want to see our leaders solve those problems, especially as we continue to grapple with all the challenges of the COVID pandemic and recession."

The survey remains open through the end of the legislative session on March 5. All Utahns are invited to express their views at https://utahchildren.org/newsroom/speaking-of-kids-blog/item/1112-tax-cut-survey.

In addition, Utahns who want to write their legislators about this issue are invited to make use of our customizable form letter by clicking here