Tax bite in Utah highly unequal

Danette Crowther and Allen Jones both rave about the views from their two homes. Crowther, high in Draper's Suncrest subdivision, has a vista of Lone Peak and the Salt Lake Valley. Jones in Wayne County can see mountains, lakes and redrock country.

But Crowther's view comes with a much higher annual tax bill attached.

Her Salt Lake County section of Suncrest has the highest property taxes in Utah this year: $1,979 on a $200,000 home. Unincorporated Wayne County, where Jones lives near Bicknell, has the lowest: $880 on a $200,000 home.

That's a big difference of $1,099 on a same-value home.

Statewide, the median rate among Utah's 1,200 separate tax areas would bring $1,377 in taxes on a $200,000 home. All those numbers may help other Utahns gauge their relative burden as they pay property taxes, which are due statewide on Wednesday.

More than 500 local governments — from cities to counties, school districts, water districts, recreation districts and even cemetery districts — project collecting a combined $1.52 billion from Utah property owners this year.

That is up 6.2 percent from last year.

A Deseret Morning News analysis of State Tax Commission data shows that 428 local governments are expecting an increase in property tax revenue this year; four expect no change; and 64 expect decreases.

Also, five local governments — the new town of Apple Valley (in Washington County), the South Davis Recreation District, the Salt Lake Valley Fire Service Area, and mosquito abatement districts in Cache and Summit counties — are charging property tax for the first time this year.

The Morning News analysis also identified which individual governments had the biggest property tax revenue hikes or cuts, and how much similar types of governments charge in tax.

Differences

Taxes can vary greatly — even within the same city — depending on how many different local governments charge taxes there; the value of owners' homes; and the cost and extent of differing services received.

Knowing that, neither Crowther or Jones was surprised that they live in, respectively, the highest- and lowest-taxed areas of the state.

"We knew it," says Jones, a Wayne County commissioner. "We work hard to keep taxes low. We have good services for a place this big, but we have no luxury."

Jones and his neighbors pay taxes to only three local governments: Wayne County, the Wayne County School District and the Wayne County Water Conservancy District. That is bare-bones government, and taxes reflect that. Jones adds that sales tax from tourists to sites such as Capitol Reef National Park helps keep property taxes low for residents.