Utah has the Twentieth Lowest Tax Burden in the Nation for 2013

Apr 19, 2015

In Fiscal Year (FY) 2013, Utah collected $10.2 billion in state and local taxes. While this is an impressive sum of money, it tells us little about whether or not the average Utah taxpayer can afford this level of taxation.

As shown in Chart 1 below, Utah’s state and local tax burden (tax collections divided by personal income) was the twentieth lowest in the nation for FY 2013 at 9.5 percent—this is -5 percent below the national average of 10.3 percent. As shown in Chart 2, Utah’s tax burden has grown over time by 15 percent to 9.5 percent in FY 2013 from 8.5 percent in FY 1950.

Utah State and Local Tax Burden Rank 2013.jpg

Utah’s low state and local tax burden is driven by a lower-than-average property tax burden (2.7 percent, 33^rd highest), corporate income tax burden (0.32 percent, 27^th highest) and all other taxes (1.8 percent, 32^nd highest). However, Utah does have a higher-than-average individual income tax burden (2.5 percent, 17^th highest), and sales tax burden (2.4 percent, 19^th highest) partially offsetting the lower tax burdens.

#Utah #taxburden has grown 15% between FY 1950 to 2013 to 9.5% from 8.5%. (click to tweet)

Of course, the tax burdens for local government can vary just as much as they do among the 50 states. As such, we have also calculated the local government tax burden for every county in Utah—this includes every taxing jurisdiction within the geographic county borders whether it is a city, a special district, or county government itself.

The Utah counties with the highest local government tax burden include: Emery County, UT (10.1 percent), Kane County, UT (8.5 percent), and Rich County, UT (7.6 percent). The Utah counties with the lowest local government tax burden include: Davis County, UT (2.8 percent), Morgan County, UT (3 percent), and Sanpete County, UT (3.1 percent).

Click here to view tax burden data by state, county, type of tax, and for years 1950 to 2013.

Utah State and Local Tax Burden 1950 to 2013.jpg

J. Scott Moody

Scott has nearly 20 years of experience as a public policy economist. He is the author, co-author and editor of over 180 studies and books. His professional experience also includes positions at the American Conservative Union Foundation, Granite Institute, Federalism In Action, Maine Heritage Policy Center, Tax Foundation, and Heritage Foundation.