First is the fact that the property tax is the most hated tax by the people; it harms young families as well as those on fixed incomes. 

Secondly, we need a workable solution which will prevent a tax increase for the west-side of the Jordan School District.  While I was successful in obtaining millions in equalization dollars for the west-side, we need a more permanent solution. 

And third, we need a way to cut down on the unjust way that illegal aliens are being subsidized by legal citizens. 

1.  Eliminate the local school district’s ability to impose property taxes (with some exceptions.)    

Currently local school districts have two property tax levies.  One tax covers the capital facilities (buildings) and the other goes towards operations and maintenance.  The local school districts impose the highest property taxes by far compared to other local taxing entities.  By eliminating the district’s portion of the property tax, most people would see a decrease of up to 60% of their total property tax burden.

If we were to simply eliminate the school district’s property tax authority without making it up elsewhere, it would harm public education.  So what do we do?   This brings me to the second part of my tax plan. 

2.  In order to make certain that cutting the property tax does not harm education, and to make the tax cut revenue neutral, we would shift the tax burden from the property tax to the general sales tax.  To keep this plan revenue neutral, the state would increase the general sales tax (not the food tax) by around 2.25%.  We would then use this additional sales tax revenue to “back-fill” and fund the local school districts.    

Of all the taxes imposed, the general sales tax is one of the fairest.  The more goods you consume, the more you pay, if you want to pay less sales tax, then you simply adjust your shopping habits. It is a fair user tax.   

1. It cuts property tax by up to 60% without harming education.

2. By “back-filling” the property tax-cut with the general sales tax, the state would collect all of the state’s sales tax, and then distribute that money to local school districts based on student needs and priority.  This would immediately become a state wide equalization plan, preventing a tax increase for the west-side school district.

3.  It would require illegal aliens to pay more of their “fair share.”  Many times when illegal alien families move to Utah, they move three or four separate families into the same house.  What this does is allows these multiple-families to share the single property tax burden while the rest of us pay more for their kids to attend our schools.  

By moving the education burden to the sales tax, these families who are “getting a free ride” would now be paying more of their share when they shop and buy products at the store.