taxes | Alliance for a Better Utah

Utah’s no-bid COVID-19 buys spur some lawmakers to seek checks on spending power

Better Utah May 23, 2020

This article originally appeared in the Deseret News. Read it in its entirety here. SALT LAKE CITY — Frustrated by certain multimillion-dollar, no-bid purchases and contracts that state officials have executed as part of their response to the COVID-19 pandemic, a pair of lawmakers are drafting legislation to bring more transparency and checks to the state’s emergency procurement powers. Rep. Andrew Stoddard, D-Sandy, and Rep. Suzanne

Utah should seek to develop federal lands near cities, argues a former lawmaker

Better Utah May 22, 2020

This article originally appeared in the Salt Lake Tribune. Read it in its entirety here. Utah officials now have a $700,000 tool that they hope will demonstrate the federal government is paying the state a “minuscule fraction” of what it’s due for its public lands. On Friday, a tech firm called Geomancer unveiled the software that Utah lawmakers bought to help them understand the value of the land

Press Release: Better Utah responds to tax reform draft

Better Utah November 7, 2019

PRESS RELEASEFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 7, 2019 Salt Lake City, UT – Today, the Tax Restructuring and Equalization Tax Force released the over 100-page draft of the much-anticipated tax reform bill. The tax proposal includes restoration of the full sales tax on food, lowers the income tax rate, and proposes eliminating the tax earmark for

Press Release: Better Utah responds to tax reform proposal

Better Utah October 18, 2019

PRESS RELEASEFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 18, 2019 Salt Lake City, UT – Today, the Tax Restructuring and Equalization Task Force released its first draft of a new tax reform proposal. The tax proposal includes restoration of the full sales tax on food, lowers the income tax rate, and proposes eliminating the tax earmark for education,

Watchdogs criticize Salt Lake Chamber’s canceled $2,500-a-head ‘off-the-record conversation’ with lawmakers on tax reform

Clara Robertson June 20, 2019

This article originally appeared in The Salt Lake Tribune. Read it in its entirety here. Government watchdog groups are calling out the Salt Lake Chamber over an abruptly canceled “off-the-record conversation” on tax reform in which business owners would have paid $2,500 for a cozy session with Utah legislative leaders. “It didn’t smell right to us,” said

Little to report from Utah tax reform task force until town halls start next week

Mackenzie Heim June 19, 2019

This story originally appeared on deseret.com. Read it in its entirety here. There wasn’t much to say during the first official report of the Legislature’s Tax Restructuring and Equalization Task Force to lawmakers on Wednesday. “No work has been done. Of course, I’m joking,” Sen. Lincoln Fillmore, R-South Jordan, told the Revenue and Taxation Interim

Salt Lake Chamber scraps plan for pricey ‘off-record’ meeting with lawmakers

Clara Robertson June 18, 2019

This article originally appeared in the Deseret News. Read it in its entirety here. SALT LAKE CITY — It started with a flyer. Then it quickly unraveled as the Deseret News began asking questions. The flyer — sent to members of the Salt Lake Chamber — asked for a minimum payment of $2,500 to its

No proposed fixes and no public comment at first tax reform task force meeting

Clara Robertson June 13, 2019

This article originally appeared in Deseret News. Read it in its entirety here. SALT LAKE CITY — There were no proposed fixes to the state’s tax structure discussed during the first meeting Thursday of a new legislative task force formed after lawmakers backed away last session from imposing sales taxes on services. And there won’t

All the things the Utah State Legislature did to your life this year

Better Utah March 15, 2019

This article originally appeared on Fox 13. Read it in its entirety here. SALT LAKE CITY — What just happened? The Utah State Legislature just happened! Hard to believe it was 45 days ago that lawmakers opened the 2019 legislative session to protests over their plans to replace Proposition 3, the voter-approved Medicaid-expansion ballot initiative.

Press Release: Sponsor makes false claims during House debate on coal port bill

Katie Matheson March 14, 2019

PRESS RELEASEFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 13, 2019 Salt Lake City, UT – Without a House committee hearing, the House of Representatives passed S.B. 248 from Rep. Mike McKell, which, as substituted, streamlines the ability for Utah counties to invest millions of dollars in an out-of-state coal port. During the House debate, Rep. McKell repeatedly claimed

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