TAX GRAB – CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT B

TAX GRAB – CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT B

No one likes to pay taxes, but everyone has to. That is the case unless Constitutional Amendment B becomes law. Amendment B will give large property owners and landlords a tax-exempt status for their private buildings if the government leases the building.

Here is the problem with this amendment.

The government is paying fair market rental rates for the buildings they lease. The landlord or property owner is a private entity and the sole purpose of leasing the property is to make a profit. The tax rate has already been figured into the rent. This means that by exempting the private owner from state and local property taxes the landowner will increase their profit by the amount of the exempted tax. There is no provision in the amendment to make the landlord reduce the rent by the exempted tax amount. The taxpayers do not receive the benefit of this tax giveaway.

This is a losing proposition for the taxpayers of Utah and should be defeated this November.