KAYSVILLE, Utah, Dec. 8, 2022 (Gephardt Daily) — Gov. Spencer Cox and Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson on Thursday announced that their fiscal year 2024 budget recommendations will include $1 billion in tax cuts and a $6,000 compensation increase for every teacher in the state.
The announcement was made at Centennial Jr. High in Kaysville, and comes a day before Cox releases his full 2024 budget recommendations.
A statement released by the Governor’s Office says that, on the tax side, specific proposals include an income tax rate reduction, an expansion of the dependent exemption to include a $250 refundability provision, a dependent exemption for pregnant women, expanding Social Security tax phase out, a one-time income tax rebate, a property tax reduction, an expansion of the circuit breaker credit, and returning service fees through the Universal Service Fund.
“Utah’s strength is in its people,” Cox said. “Returning hard-earned dollars to Utahns who are struggling from the impacts of inflation is the right thing to do and will support the families who need it most.”
These ongoing and one-time income tax and property tax recommendations, together with cuts made over the past two years, total more than $1.3 billion in tax relief for Utahns, the released statement says, adding this amounts to the largest tax cuts by a single administration in state history.
Cox also recommended a $6,000 compensation increase for Utah teachers, which includes approximately $4,600 plus benefits for every teacher. Cox recommends additional one-time funds so that this increase begins this fiscal year.
“Teachers make a tremendous difference in our lives and we need Utah’s best and brightest to become teachers,” Cox said. “Getting and keeping high-quality, qualified educators in classrooms will do wonders for our K-12 students, and this pay increase will help us do that.”
Total recommendations for education are more than $1.52 billion, including a 5% WPU increase, a total of $476.9 for educator support, funding for students at risk of academic failure, and 95.6% of the funds needed to have optional all-day kindergarten available for every family.
Cox’s full FY ’24 budget recommendations will be released at a press conference on Friday, and can be found at gopb.utah.gov after the release.
