2020 UT Governor's race: on Tax Reform


Aimee Winder Newton: State must step up, rural areas can't afford property taxes

I am not opposed, as long as there is a comprehensive plan in place to fund education. The structural imbalance is real, but we cannot tackle tax reform without a conversation about budget reform that begins with public ed as a priority. We need to invest in teacher salaries today and we can do so without a tax increase. We have rural communities that cannot afford to balance their education budgets through property taxes. The state needs to step up.
Source: UtahPolicy.com on 2020 Utah gubernatorial race Mar 18, 2020

Jeff Burningham: Reduce waste, unnecessary spending for meaningful tax cut

I think more flexibility is a good thing so that we can be smart about spending and make sure we get things right and not rush into tax reform that may hurt people. Most importantly, we need to look at spending. Our state budget has grown nearly 50% since 2015! As governor, I'll reduce waste and unnecessary spending so we can give a meaningful tax cut to Utah families who are the industrious ones who have generated the surplus we are now enjoying in the first place.
Source: UtahPolicy.com on 2020 Utah gubernatorial race Mar 18, 2020

Jon Huntsman: Education funding is critical to long-term prosperity

Tax reform is a significant undertaking that requires vision and gubernatorial leadership. Education funding is critical to our long-term prosperity as a state, so the effort to strengthen safeguards for funding students is a commendable element of the legislature's proposal. I will always fight for the very best outcome for our students and teachers, just as I did as governor.
Source: UtahPolicy.com on 2020 Utah gubernatorial race Mar 18, 2020

Jeff Burningham: Before we modernize tax code, we need to review spending

The people of Utah have ensured we don't have a revenue problem in this state, but we do have a spending problem. Discretionary spending has grown by more than 30% over the past five years. How many Utahns have seen a 30% increase in their income? As governor, I'll do a top-to-bottom review of government and eliminate waste. Before we modernize the tax code, we need to modernize our spending.
Source: Salt Lake Tribune on 2020 Utah gubernatorial race Jan 29, 2020

Jeff Burningham: Cut waste before imposing new taxes

We absolutely do not have a revenue problem in Utah. Here's a simple but game-changing idea: before imposing new taxes on the people of Utah, let's do a top-to-bottom review of government and cut waste. Then we'll know how much revenue we actually need. State government spending does not need to grow at the same rate as our economy. We can find ways to be more efficient with tax dollars. Low taxes encourage businesses to grow and allow Utahns to keep more of their hard-earned money.
Source: 2020 Utah gubernatorial campaign website JeffBurningham.com Jan 6, 2020

Jeff Burningham: Focus on taxpayer impact, not government revenue

I believe the first question should never be, "How does tax policy impact government revenue?" Instead, the first question should be, "How does tax policy impact the people of Utah?" We should not raise taxes, especially when 1) we're experiencing large budget surpluses, and 2) government spending has grown 30% in the past five years.
Source: Deseret News on 2020 Utah gubernatorial race Nov 9, 2019

Spencer Cox: Reliance on property tax hurting rural areas

He said housing prices are concerning to voters and said the lack of industry in rural areas, coupled with a tax base that heavily relies on property taxes rather than other sorts of revenues, makes it difficult for people who grow up in those areas to remain there. "There is a widening gap, unfortunately, that's happening we see that especially in rural Utah where the education gap people are losing out."
Source: Summit County Park Record on 2020 Utah gubernatorial race Jun 4, 2019

  • The above quotations are from 2020 Utah Gubernatorial race: debates and news coverage.
  • Click here for definitions & background information on Tax Reform.
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  • Click here for more quotes by Utah on Tax Reform.
  • Click here for more quotes by Gary Herbert on Tax Reform.
Candidates and political leaders on Tax Reform:

Gubernatorial Debates 2020:
DE: vs.Carney(incumbent) vs.Williams(D)
IN: vs.Holcomb(incumbent) vs.Melton(D) vs.Myers(D)
MO: Parson(incumbent) vs.Galloway(D) vs.Neely(R)
MT: Bullock(retiring) vs.Fox(R) vs.Perry(R) vs.Gianforte(R) vs.Stapleton(R) vs.Olszewski(R) vs.Neill(D) vs.Schreiner(D) vs.Cooney(D) vs.Williams(D)
NC: Cooper(incumbent) vs.Forest(R) vs.Grange(R)
ND: Burgum(incumbent) vs.Coachman(R) vs.Lenz(D)
NH: Sununu(incumbent) vs.Volinsky(D) vs. fsFeltes(D)
PR: Rossello(D) vs.Garced(D) vs.Pierluisi(D)
UT: Herbert(retiring) vs.Huntsman(R) vs.Cox(R) vs.Burningham(R) vs.Newton(D) vs.Hughes(R)
VT: Scott(incumbent) vs.Holcombe(D) vs.Zuckerman(D)
WA: Inslee(incumbent) vs.Bryant(R) vs.Fortunato(R)
WV: Justice(incumbent) vs.Folk(R) vs.Thrasher(R) vs.Vanover(D) vs.Smith(D) vs.Ron Stollings(D)
Gubernatorial Debates 2021:
NJ:
Murphy(D) vs.Ciattarelli(R)
VA:
Northam(D,term-limited) vs.Herring(D) vs.Chase(R) vs.Fairfax(D)

Gubernatorial Debates 2019:
KY:
Bevin(R) vs.Goforth(R,lost primary) vs.Adkins(D,lost primary) vs.Beshear(D) vs.Edelen(D,lost primary)
LA:
Edwards(D) vs.Rispone(R) vs.Abraham(R) vs.Kennedy(R,declined)
MS:
Bryant(R,retiring) vs.Foster(R) vs.Hood(D) vs.Reeves(R) vs.Waller(R)
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Page last updated: Dec 01, 2021