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Show Tax burden in Utah above average Utah's state and local tax burden is somewhat above the national and regional averages when measured by personal income. This was disclosed in a series of charts prepared by Utah Foundation, the private tax research organization. The study indicates that Utah's state and local tax burden was equal to $ 1 29 per $ 1 ,000 of personal income. This compares with an average tax burden of $120 per $1,000 of personal income in the Mountain States and $1 16 in the United States as a whole. Among the major state and local taxes, Utah is well above regional and national averages with respect to its use of the income and sales taxes but only is average in its reliance on the property tax. According to the analysis, Utah had the highest income tax and the third highest sales tax among the Mountain States. Two of the Mountain States (Nevada and Wyoming) had no income tax and one state (Montana) had no sales tax. Utah's gasoline tax of 14 cents per gallon is slightly above the Mountain States average (13.7 cents per gallon) and the U.S. average (12.8 cents per gallon). Utah's cigarette tax is 12 cents per pack, on the other hand, is below the Mountain States average of 13.8 cents per pack and the U.S. average of 17.4 cents per pack. Other facts revealed by the Utah Foundation chart series include the following:-Utah has the lowest per capita income among the eight Mountain States. During 1985 it was 17 percent below the Mountain States average and 24 percent less than the U.S. average. --A major factor accounting for Utah's low ranking in per capita income is the large proportion of the population that consists of non-earning children. When personal income is related re-lated only to the adult population, Utah is about six percent below the Mountain States average and about 10 percent below the U.S. average. --Because of Utah's huge school-age population it spends more than most states for education. Approximately 41.4 percent per-cent of Utah's state and local expenditures goes for education, compared with an average of 37.2 percent in the Mountain States and 35.3 percent in the U.S. as a whole. Moreover, the percentage of personal income going for education in Utah is 26 percent higher than the Mountain States average and 55 percent greater than the U.S. average. As indicated, Utah's school load (percent of population enrolled in the public schools) is 29 percent above the Mountain States average and 48 percent higher than the U.S. average. -Welfare expenditures in Utah are slightly higher than the Mountain States average but are significantly below the U.S. average. The percent of state and local spending going for highways in Utah is substantially above both the Mountain States average and the United States average. Foundation analysts caution that while they believe that these comparisons can provide much useful information, no single measure can give a complete and final answer as to where Utah stands among the states. They point out that sometimes a special spe-cial condition, such as Utah's abnormally high school-age population, popu-lation, can distort the picture made by such comparisons. |