Voices for Utah Children Articles

  • Our 2024 Legislative Agenda

    At Voices for Utah Children, we always start with this guiding question: "Is it good for all kids?" That remains our north star at the outset of the 2024 legislative session, and is reflected in our top legislative priorities. So, what’s good for all...

    • Type: Article
    • Author: Jenna Williams
    • Category: Updates & Blog

  • How to Strengthen Utah's Child Tax Credit

    In 2023, Utah introduced its own child tax credit (CTC) marking a positive step forward. However, the credit's limited scope falls short of providing real assistance to families raising young children. As we approach the 2024 legislative session, there...

    • Type: Article
    • Author: Jenna Williams
    • Category: Updates & Blog

  • The Governor’s 2024 Budget: Hits and Misses for Utah Families

    Governor Cox unveiled his budget last week, and the general direction of the budget is positive. Voices for Utah Children is interested in some specific components of the budget that directly impact Utah children and their families: Public Education...

    • Type: Article
    • Author: Anna Thomas
    • Category: Updates & Blog

  • Tax Policy 101: Tax Refundability

    Tax policy is complicated. Talking about taxes involves jargon, and concepts that can be confusing. For example, what is a 'refundable' tax credit? What exactly does that mean, and how does it help families? We answer these questions here with a quick...

    • Type: Article
    • Author: Jenna Williams
    • Category: Updates & Blog

  • Making Utah Taxes Fair for All Families

    Most of us don't enjoy paying taxes. We do it, though, because pooling our money together through taxes makes it possible for us to have roads, schools, libraries and parks, fire fighters and law enforcement, and so many more public goods that none of...

    • Type: Article
    • Author: Taylor Throne
    • Category: Updates & Blog

  • Empower Utah Families with Better Income Tax Credits

    When it comes to improving the lives of hardworking Utahns, we need policies that help those who are struggling to make ends meet. A refundable Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) could do just that. Let's start by discussing what the earned income tax...

    • Type: Article
    • Author: Taylor Thorne
    • Category: Updates & Blog

  • Annie E. Casey Foundation Releases 34th edition of KIDS COUNT® Data Book

    Utah Shines in Child Well-Being Rankings, Yet the Strain of Inaccessible, Unaffordable Child Care Pushes Parents to the Breaking Point Utah made significant strides in overall child well-being, moving up to second place in the country from fourth last...

    • Type: Article
    • Author: Laneta Fitisemanu
    • Category: Updates & Blog

  • Utah Children's Budget 2023

    The care for the children in our state and communities can be measured by our public investment in our smallest humans. From the fiscal year 2008 to 2022, Voices for Utah Children divided all state programs concerning children into seven categories,...

    • Type: Article
    • Author: Taylor Throne
    • Category: Updates & Blog

  • Summary of the Tax Cuts Passed by the 2023 Utah Legislature

    The Legislature finished its 2023 General Session last Friday evening, March 3rd. In the area of tax policy, we've prepared the chart above to summarize the tax cuts passed this year. The tax cuts that will go into effect in the next year add up to...

    • Type: Article
    • Author: Matthew Weinstein
    • Category: Updates & Blog

  • Utah Education Funding: Legislative Leadership vs The Data

    At two large pre-legislative events in the second week of January, hundreds of attendees heard Utah's Senate President proudly assert that Utah was the only state that increased education funding during the pandemic. Every year, especially around the...

    • Type: Article
    • Author: Matthew Weinstein
    • Category: Updates & Blog

  • Invest in Utah's Future Coalition: $5.6b of unmet needs should be prioritized over tax cuts

    BROAD COALITION CALLS FOR INVESTMENT IN UTAH’S FUTURE RATHER THAN TAX CUTS, DOCUMENTS $5.6 BILLION IN URGENT UNMET NEEDS Salt Lake City – On Monday, January 23, 2023 at the Utah State Capitol, a broad and diverse coalition of advocates for the poor,...

    • Type: Article
    • Author: Matthew Weinstein
    • Category: Updates & Blog

  • Comparing the Tax Cuts

    * * SEE COMPLETE ANALYSIS OF THE LEGISLATURE'S $400 MILLION TAX CUT PROPOSAL AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE * * The 2023 Legislature's annual seven-week General Session has begun! At the top of the agenda for the Governor and Legislative leadership: tax...

    • Type: Article
    • Author: Matthew Weinstein
    • Category: Updates & Blog

  • The best holiday gift for Utah kids this year: An improved federal Child Tax Credit

    Every December Congress meets to try to pass all the urgent items they didn't manage to get done the rest of the year. Usually the list includes tax policy changes demanded by one well-heeled special interest or another. This year is no different. At...

    • Type: Article
    • Author: Matthew Weinstein
    • Category: Updates & Blog

  • Utah Economic Benchmarking Project 2022: Utah vs Texas

    New Economic Benchmarking Report Finds Utah Ahead of Texas in Most Key Metrics of Economic Opportunity and Standard of Living Salt Lake City, August 31, 2022 - Voices for Utah Children released today the fifth in its series of economic benchmarking...

    • Type: Article
    • Author: Taylor Throne
    • Category: Updates & Blog

  • 2022 Legislative Session: Tax Policy: Giving In Again to the Tax Cut Temptation

    The story of tax policy in the 2022 Legislative session is a tale of two tax cuts: A large, top-heavy cut to the income tax rate from 4.95% to 4.85%. How large? $164 million. How top-heavy? 63% of it goes to the top 20% of taxpayers. all of whom have...

    • Type: Article
    • Author: Matthew Weinstein
    • Category: Updates & Blog

  • Utah Children's Budget Report 2021

    Children’s Budget Report Finds Utah Is Spending More On Children Than Ever Before, But Education Funding Effort Is At A Record Low Salt Lake City, December 9, 2021 - Voices for Utah Children, the state’s leading children’s policy advocacy organization,...

    • Type: Article
    • Author: Taylor Throne
    • Category: Updates & Blog

  • Invest in Utah's Future, Not Tax Cuts

    BROAD COALITION CALLS FOR INVESTMENT IN UTAH’S FUTURE, NOT TAX CUTS, DOCUMENTS $5.2 BILLION IN URGENT UNMET NEEDS Salt Lake City – On Monday, November 8, 2021 on the steps of the Utah Capitol, a broad and diverse coalition of advocates for the poor,...

    • Type: Article
    • Author: Matthew Weinstein
    • Category: Updates & Blog

  • Good News and Bad News for Utah in New Census Report on State Education Investment

    On May 18, 2021, as it always does around this time of year, the US Census Bureau released its Annual Survey of School System Finances. This report is the authoritative source of state education finance data and rankings, including the one we are all...

    • Type: Article
    • Author: Matthew Weinstein
    • Category: Updates & Blog

  • Utah Economic Benchmarking Project 2021: Utah vs Arizona

    New Economic Benchmarking Report Finds Utah Ahead of Arizona in Most Key Metrics of Economic Opportunity and Standard of Living Salt Lake City, May 6, 2021 - Voices for Utah Children released today the fourth in its series of economic benchmarking...

    • Type: Article
    • Author: Matthew Weinstein
    • Category: Updates & Blog

  • The High Price of Lower Taxes

    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...

    • Type: Article
    • Author: Matthew Weinstein
    • Category: Updates & Blog
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