Group scales back initiative to raise Utah taxes for schools

A ballot initiative campaign asking Utah voters in 2018 to raise income and sales taxes to create a windfall for schools has scaled back the proposal after state officials said it would generate more tax revenue than expected.

Our Schools Now originally proposed raising Utah’s income tax and sales tax half a percentage point each.

The Utah’s Governor’s Office of Management and Budget estimated that those hikes would raise about $865,000,000 annually.

Our Schools Now spokesman Austin Cox says the group scaled back the proposal because organizers have said for months that they want to raise about $700 million annually for public schools.

The group is now proposing to raise income and sales taxes by .45 percent. Income tax would rise up to 5.45 percent. Sales tax would rise up to 5.15 percent.