Utah needs to expand taxes on personal services to catch up with digital age, report says

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah's income taxes have soared over the past four decades while its sales taxes have declined, according to a new report.

The report released Tuesday by the Tax Foundation, a tax policy nonprofit based in Washington, praises Utah's growth and strong economy but offers some constructive criticism for what it describes as an outdated tax system.

Since 1997, Utah's gross state product has nearly doubled, growing at almost twice the national rate. But the report says the problem is that sales taxes in Utah are stuck in 1933 and "constructed around an economy which long since vanished."

"Today's economy has little in common with that of 1933, with higher incomes and changing consumer tastes shifting a greater share of consumption to services, while a digital economy upends traditional spending categories," it notes.

Read more: https://www.deseretnews.com/article/900073791/utah-taxes-personal-services-income.html