Tax Portfolio Design
The Gardner Institute prepares research briefs to help guide informed discussions on tax portfolio design in Utah. Policymakers face a complex set of choices as they create a well-designed tax portfolio, balancing citizen service demands with how to pay for services selected for funding. Consequently, tax policy involves a wide array of tradeoffs. Tradeoffs emerge between ideals such as revenue sufficiency, economic efficiency, fairness, ease of compliance and administration, and accountability.
Featured Research
Tax System Design: Administration and Compliance
Tax burdens extend beyond the dollar amount of tax paid and the associated drag on economic activity (“deadweight loss”). These additional burdens include compliance costs for households and businesses and administrative costs for governments. Different taxes incur different compliance and administrative costs.
Tax System Design: Efficiency
An economically efficient and neutral tax system minimizes adverse effects on household and business decisions by imposing low tax rates across a broad tax base.
Tax System Design: Revenue Sufficiency
An ideal tax system consistently generates sufficient revenue to plan for and meet the core public service needs of citizens. Taxes fundamentally exist to fund core services demanded by citizens at levels selected by policymakers
Tax System Design: Utah’s Tax Portfolio Highlights Tradeoffs Among Different Tax Choices
Taxes generate revenue to pay for public services demanded by citizens. These services, such as transportation, public safety, corrections, courts, health care, water, air quality, parks, and education provide economic and societal benefits.
