This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Now that the state Legislature is in session I thought it would be a good time to express my thoughts regarding the push to raise the flat income tax rate to put more money into education.
First of all, the fact that they are going for an increase of 7/8ths of 1 percent "sounds" like a minor bump in the rate. It's like a retailer putting .99 at the end of a price, it appears to be less than it really is. The 7/8ths percent is a 17.5 percent increase on the current 5 percent. So, if you have $50,000 in taxable income, that is $437 in additional tax. Add that to the increased gas tax and the ever-increasing property taxes, etc. and it becomes a burden to a lot of citizens who can use that money to live on.
I'm a senior, retired, living alone, paying on a mortgage, car, utilities and all of the other necessary payments that it takes to live. I don't get $2,000 child tax credits and never did. I don't have a half dozen or more exemptions to claim. Seniors haven't gotten a raise in Social Security of any significance in recent years. I received a whopping $6 increase in my state retirement net pay per month this year.
If the Legislature decides to pass this particular bill, which I hope they don't and that they find the money another way, I beg you to earmark the monies. Make sure that it is going to teachers and classrooms and not administration. Give a teacher who makes $40,000 a 5 percent raise and they get $2,000. Give an administrator who makes $150,000 a 5 percent raise and they receive $7,500.
Too much is going up the ladder and not enough going where it's needed.
Dennis Christiansen
Millcreek