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Show Tax Burden in Utah is Moderate Compared to Major U. S. Cities The average lax burden for families and individuals indivi-duals in Utah is moderate moder-ate when compared with that found in the 30 largest larg-est cities of the United States. This was reported report-ed by Utah Foundation, the private tax research organization in an analysis analy-sis of tax burdens in major maj-or U.S. and Utah cities. Foundation analysts emphasize, however, that taxes in smaller communities com-munities such as the Utah cities included in the study generally are lower low-er than they are in the larger metropolitan areas which characterize other states. The Utah cities included in the comparison range in population pop-ulation from 12,539 to 175,885, while the 30 U.S. cities range from 448,877 to 7,895,563. Included in the analysis were state and local income in-come taxes, property taxes, general sales or gross receipts taxes, and the various taxes levied on automobile ownership and usage. These are the major direct taxes paid by most families and individuals. in-dividuals. The study notes that in addition to these direct taxes, families fami-lies and individuals also pay indirect taxes which are hidden in the cost of goods and services that .they purchase. These, however, are not assignable assign-able to particular localities. local-ities. According to the report, re-port, the major reason for the lower total tax burden in the Utah cities compared with the 30 largest U.S. cities is the moderate property tax imposed in most Utah localities. The property tax is the largest single element in the overall state and local tax burden, bur-den, accounting for 50 or more of the total at most income levels in the U.S. cities. Following is a summary showing the tax burden for a family of four in the 12 Utah cities and the 30 U.S. cities at the $10,000 income in-come level: In the 12 Utah cities taxes amounted to Income In-come tax, $162; Proper- ty tax, $328; Sales taxes, $211 and Automobile tax, $103, with a total tax of $805. In the 30 U.S. cities Income tax amounted to $1(59, Property tax, $519; Sales Taxes, $158, Automobile Auto-mobile Taxes, $81 bringing bring-ing the total tax to $927. The difference between total taxes was $122 with Utah's total taxes being lower. From the foregoing, it may be noted that the property tax in Utah cities is well below the 30-U. S. city average, while the sales tax and the automotive taxes in Utah are above the U. S. average. At the $10,000 income level, the Utah income in-come tax (under the new law) also is slightly below the average of the other U.S. cities. At higher income levels, however, the income tax in Utah is well above the 30-U.S. 30-U.S. city average. The foundation study also points out that state and local tax burdens in the 30 largest U.S. cities tend to be slightly regressive re-gressive that is, lower income families pay a higher per cent burden than do the upper income families. In the Utah cities, however, the overall tax burden is somewhat progressive. For example, direct state and local taxes in Utah cities average 7.7 of income at the $5,000 income in-come level, compared with 8.2 at the $25,000 income level. The report notes that there is a wide variation in the tax burden among the major cities of the nation. A family of four living in Boston, Milwaukee, Mil-waukee, or New York, for example, would pay three or four times as much in state and local taxes than would a similar simi-lar family residing in Jacksonville, Houston, or Dallas Among the 12 Utah cities included in the comparison, the highest tax burdens are found in Salt Lake City and Ogden with the lowest overall burdens in Brigham City and Logan. The variation among the 12 Utah cities, however, is not as great as it is for the 30 U.S. cities. |