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Show Utah Taxes Highest I Of All Western States' State and local taxes for 1046 were higher in Utah la relation to Income than in any other western state, it was revealed today in a research re-search report by Utah Foundation, the non-profit, tax-research organization. organ-ization. Utah citizens paid 8.5 per cent of their total Income for state and local taxes in 1946. The percentage was next highest in Arizona where collections were equivalent to 8.0 per cent of total income of residents of the state. Nebraska's ratio was lowest, with 5.9 per cent. The average aver-age for thirteen western states for which comparable data are available availa-ble was 7.4 per cent. Utah's total tax load for 1948, In-eluding In-eluding Utah's share of all Federal taxes, was (223 million, or nearly one-third of the combined income of all residents of the state. State and local taxes in Utah In 1947, will be nearly 25 per cent higher than for 1946, and more than 75 per cent higher than in 1940. The report also shows a comparison compar-ison of local property taxes charged In the eight Mountain states for 1940 and 1940, indicating that the percentage of Increase In Utah was greater .than for any other Mountain Moun-tain state. Property taxes for 1947, which in Utah Increased 29 per cent over 1948, are not considered in tho comparisons, since comparable data da-ta are not yet available for other states. The report cites Federal grants-in-aid as a significant factor sometimes some-times overlooked In comparison of Federal, state and local taxes. During Dur-ing the period 1934-1945, Utah received re-ceived a total of $241,223,000. or an average pf more than (20,000.000 per year, in Federal grants. The report comments, "Had the amounts received in Federal grants been collected col-lected as state and local taxes, the relative Importance of state and local lo-cal government policies and administration admin-istration in determining the proportion propor-tion of income required for taxes would have been more apparent. Federal grants-in-aid were equivalent equival-ent to 5.6 per cent of the total income in-come of Utah residents for the 12-year 12-year period, 1934 through 1945." Federal, state and local taxes required re-quired 32.4 per cent of total income of Utah residents in 1948, compared compar-ed with 16.4 per cent In 1930 and 21.6 per cent in 1940. |