Utah's Tax Cut is Really a $1.4 Billion Transfer Away from Schools

Utah lawmakers are set to pass another income tax cut this year — dropping the rate from 4.55% to 4.45%. It sounds small, but that tiny slice costs $101 million every single year, pulled directly from the fund that pays for public education, higher education, and social services.

So who's actually getting the money? The top 1% of earners — those making $835,000 or more — will see about $1,200 this year alone. Add up five years of these cuts and their cumulative annual savings top $19,000. Meanwhile, middle-income Utahns are getting $36 a year. The bottom 20%? Thirteen dollars.

Over five years, the Utah Legislature has cut $1.4 billion in income taxes — all of it coming from future revenues that could have gone to classrooms, colleges, and safety net programs.