Tax bite in Utah highly unequal

Other school districts that charge among the least are: Kane ($508); Wayne ($523); Park City School District ($604) and Grand County School District ($616).

Among county governments, rural areas that have a high percentage of federal lands tend to have the highest tax rates (although urban Weber also made the list).

The federal government pays no tax on its lands. That hurts many rural counties, where the federal government often owns 90 percent or more of the land area — yet demand exists for such things as search-and-rescue and law enforcement, for which residents must pay.

The county governments with the highest taxes (on a $200,000 home) are: Emery ($486), San Juan ($472), Weber ($471), Piute ($459) and Millard ($425).

The county governments with the lowest taxes (on a $200,000 home) are: Utah ($153), Tooele ($154), Garfield ($161), Summit ($164) and Washington ($170).

City governments have the most variation in the taxes they charge, probably because the services they offer are also the most varied.

For example, Salt Lake City offers water and recreation services that residents elsewhere would likely pay extra taxes to special districts to provide. That may make Salt Lake City's taxes look comparatively high among cities, but in reality overall taxes for its residents tend to be moderate.

The city governments with the highest taxes on a $200,000 home are: East Carbon ($687), Salt Lake City ($590), Ogden ($468), Roosevelt ($464) and Brian Head ($459).

The city governments with the lowest taxes on a $200,000 home are: Ophir, Tooele County ($23); Torrey, Wayne County ($27); Deweyville, Box Elder County ($27); Farr West, Weber County ($31); and Bicknell, Wayne County ($33).

Special districts also vary greatly in purpose and cost. Utah, for example, has 67 water or sewer districts that charge property tax; 10 recreation districts; 16 mosquito abatement districts; 19 fire districts; 43 cemetery districts; and dozens of other special districts.

Among all those special districts, the ones that charge the most tax on a $200,000 home are: Draper's Traverse Ridge Special Service District ($350); the Coral Canyon special service district in Washington County ($330); Summit County Service Area 8 ($268); Castle Valley Special Service District ($249); and Soldier Summit Special Service District ($203).

The special districts charging the least on a $200,000 home are: Summit County's Wildland Fire Service Area ($1); Lehi Metropolitan Water District ($1); South Salt Lake County Mosquito Abatement District ($3); North Utah County Water Conservancy District ($4) and Washington County's Southwest Mosquito Abatement District ($4).

Hikes and cuts