Report: Utah Board Misused Public Money on Fossil Fuel Projects, Failed to Fund Rural Community Needs biologicaldiversity.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from biologicaldiversity.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Matthew Weinstein: The high price of lower taxes in Utah
The Legislature should have other priorities than ‘the year of the tax cut.’
(Rick Bowmer | AP file photo)
In this Aug. 20, 2020, photo, the Utah House of Representatives convenes for a special session of the Legislature at the Utah State Capitol in Salt Lake City.
By Matthew Weinstein | Special to The Tribune
| March 1, 2021, 11:30 p.m.
Legislative leaders have said that 2021 should be “the year of the tax cut.” Numerous public opinion surveys show that Utahns disagree. This may come as a surprise to policymakers, who have been in the habit of handing out tax break after tax break for decades. But there seems to be an increasing public awareness that Utah is now paying a price for decades of tax cutting that have left us with the lowest overall tax level in 50 years relative to Utah personal income.
Utah Bill Would Allow Public Funding to Expand Fossil Fuel Extraction, Worsen Climate Crisis biologicaldiversity.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from biologicaldiversity.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
| Updated: Feb. 7, 2021, 4:28 p.m.
Utah cattle inspectors got rifles they didn’t need and ATVs they didn’t use. They deposited fees in their private bank accounts before reimbursing the state and drove state vehicles for personal use.
Those were some of the findings of an audit released Thursday that criticized the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food for having a “weak control structure” that “would not adequately prevent fraud and abuse from occurring.”
Conducted by the Office of the Legislative Auditor General, the investigation revealed that:
• Livestock inspectors were depositing cash fees into their personal accounts and then writing personal checks to the department.