HB 385: Holding Utahns Affected Negatively By Tax Cuts Harmless

This bill was not heard in a committee and was not voted on in the House or Senate.

Ever since Congress passed the Trump Tax Cut, state officials have known that this would bring additional state income tax dollars to the state. It may seem counterintuitive but the reality is that because Utahns pay less federal income tax, that means that Utahns have more money that automatically falls under the state income tax.

This tax problem won’t affect all Utahns, and for a few Utahns it makes up a large percentage of the tax cut they were hoping to receive from the federal government. That’s why Representative Tim Quinn is running House Bill 385. The bill sets up a mechanism by which Utahns who are going to be paying additional state income tax can instead receive those funds back by way of a credit.

Though Libertas finds HB 355 to be superior to this bill, since it truly follows the idea of “broadening the base, lowering the rate”, the passage of Rep. Quinn’s bill would be better than the alternative of simply spending the money on more government.