SALT LAKE CITY — Billions of dollars in federal COVID-19 relief spending boosted Utah’s economy during the past year.
The spending fueled an astonishing increase in tax collections for the state, and it appears the trend may continue. If it does, lawmakers may have lots of additional money to spend next year.
New revenue numbers from the Utah State Tax Commission show overall tax collections for the first nine months of the fiscal year that ends in June are $1.52 billion more than the same period last year, which is a 19.3% increase.
Most of that money comes from increases in individual and corporate income tax collections. Individual income taxes are up by more than $1 billion while corporate taxes have increased by $119 million. Next year’s budget is $21.7 billion.
Those numbers are larger than what lawmakers were expecting. In the just-completed 2021 session, projections showed a little more than $1.4 billion in additional revenue, which they used to set the budget for next year. Given that there are still three months to go in the fiscal year, it stands to reason the revenue surplus will grow.
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Written by BRYAN SCHOTT, The Salt Lake Tribune.
This article is published through the Utah News Collaborative, a partnership of news organizations in Utah that aims to inform readers across the state.
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