To help Utahns gain a better understanding of the sales and use tax, the Utah Taxpayers Association has released a new Sales Taxes in Utah Report.
The report contains an explanation of the 28 different sales taxes in the state tax code and how the revenue from these taxes is spent. The report also contains a breakdown of sales tax rates charged by the state’s 29 counties.
The sales and use tax is one of the most well understood but also most forgotten tax levied in the state of Utah. While most consumers think of the sales tax as the few extra dollars added onto their bill at the store, the tax actually generates $1.66 billion in unrestricted funds for the state of Utah. The tax also yields an additional $452 million for specific government services such as transportation and water projects. In total, the state of Utah collected $2.12 billion in sales tax during fiscal year 2014. When broken down among Utahns, the state collects $720 per Utah resident in sales tax.
“Sales taxes play a ubiquitous role in our lives. Utahns pay this tax almost every day yet rarely think about this form of payment to the government,” said Billy Hesterman, vice president of the Utah Taxpayers Association. “Taxpayers should know exactly when, where and how they are taxed and what that money is being used for. We anticipate that this report will help educate taxpayers about the sales tax.”
Currently the combined sales and use tax rate in Salt Lake and Weber Counties is 6.85 percent. In Utah County the rate is 6.75 percent and Davis County has a 6.50 percent sales and use tax rate. Daggett County has the highest rate in the state at 6.95 percent. Tooele County and 17 other counties have the lowest combined sales and use tax rate of 5.95 percent. In all counties, an individual may pay a higher rate in a particular city depending on whether or not the city has levied any additional sales taxes such as a ZAP tax.
Counties across the state are currently considering a proposal to ask voters to increase the sales and use tax by .25 percent to fund transportation projects. For most Wasatch Front Counties that increase would push the sales tax rate above 7 percent.
A copy of the report can be viewed at: http://www.utahtaxpayers.org/?p=7181
