Utah taxpayers group is in thick of things
Tax reform is a primary topic for many politicians this summer, with plans being proposed by both former Gov. Olene Walker and current Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. Also, the Tax Reform Task Force, legislators, tax experts and advocacy groups have been gathering almost weekly to discuss their plans for tax reform — and these aren't just minor revisions. These are the types of changes that, if a comprehensive package is passed in the upcoming general session, would substantially reshape taxes for almost every Utahn.
Deeply integrated in that process, especially on the task force, is the Taxpayers Association, in a way that even they agree is giving them more involvement than they normally experience at the Legislature. Working groups have asked them to work with other, more prominent groups — local government groups, low-income advocates, and government officials — to craft proposals, as opposed to simply taking the group's input during public comment and moving forward.
Their president, Sen. Howard Stephenson, R-Draper, is also a member of the task force. And Keith Prescott, an at-large member of their executive committee, is one of three advisers who helped Huntsman craft his recent flat tax proposal.
For more than eight decades, the Utah Taxpayers Association has worked to shape tax structures in a way that makes the state stronger in terms of economic competition and job growth, Stephenson said. From that economic success, personal wealth will grow.
"You won't find a more pro-family organization in the state, because we advocate for a strong economy," Stephenson said.
They are also favor tax structures that benefit business, especially larger corporations, utilities and manufacturing companies. After all, their membership is mostly corporate donors, while their executive committee includes CEOs, tax attorneys and utility lobbyists. While they do not deny that their membership includes a large number of corporations and utilities, vice president Mike Jerman said that their group is actually very representative of the current economy.
"If you go back 60 or 80 years, we probably were primarily supported by mining and utilities, because that was the state's economy," he said. "But the economy has diversified so much since then, and our membership reflects that."
As an advocacy group, they are often characterized as purely "anti-tax," primarily because of their work until the mid-1980s, Stephenson said. However, they are no longer strictly against taxes, but they have started to work, as much as possible, with school districts, local governments and state officials to raise taxes only when absolutely necessary.
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