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Show Utah Income Tax Uaries From 29 Other States Utah's present individual income tax rates which are among the most steeply graduated and personal income in-come exemptions are among the lowest of any of the twenty-nine states that impose a state income tax. These facts were disclosed in a special study released this week by Utah Foundation, the private non-profit tax research agency. Only four other states in the nation impose a rate as high as the present Utah rate of 5 on the fifth thousand dollars of taxable tax-able income, the report continues. The Foundation study points out that eight of the eleven Western states levy a -state individual income in-come tax. Utah's rates result in a higher tax than is imposed in any other western state except Oregon for all net incomes up to $15,000. More than 99 of all Utah taxpayers who filed income tax returns in 1952 report net incomes of less than $15,000. According to the foundation analysis, an-alysis, five of the eight Western States having an ' individual income in-come tax, as well as the Federal Government, permit the splitting j of income between husband and wife on joint returns filed by married couples. This tax-splitting principle allows a married couple to divide the total family income in order to take advantage of ' a lower tax rate bracket. Such a provision lessens the progression in the rates and reduces the effective effec-tive tax for married couples. Utah is one of the three Western States that do not permit tax splitting for married couples. " The original Utah state individual individ-ual income tax law, enacted" in 1931, imposed rates of one to four per cent, graduated by and '2 increases, with the 4 rate applying to all taxable income over 8,000. The personal exemptions exemp-tions allowed were $1,000 for single sin-gle individuals and .$2,000 for married mar-ried couples. Rates were increased to present levels and exemptions reduced in 1935. The individual income tax produced pro-duced $246,000 in 1932. $803,000 in 1940, $2,579,000 in 1946, and $5,-682,000 $5,-682,000 in 1954. A peak of $7V4 million was reached ih 1952 before the dependency allowance was increased in-creased from $300 to $600: and a short form was adopted,- which reduced the collections to; the 1954 figure. |