Editor:

I would like to applaud Michael Young’s Jan. 8 column concerning needed reforms of the tax system in Utah, “Tax Reform is the Only Solution for Budget.”

The message he conveyed in the column is important and very timely.

On Jan. 9, the Salt Lake Tribune carried an article from the Associated Press concerning Utah’s regressive tax system.

The article described a study by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. The wealthiest 1 percent of taxpayers in Utah, whose income average $826,000 per year, pay a mere 5.5 percent of their income in taxes. In comparison, the middle fifth of taxpayers in Utah, who earn between $27,000 and $43,000 per year, pay 10.7 percent of their income in taxes.

The poorest fifth of Utah families, earning a scant $16,000 per year, pay 11.5 percent in taxes each year.

We must ask ourselves why the poorest people in the state, which include many of the students at the U, are paying double what the wealthy are paying.

The poorest people in this state are already at a disadvantage to the wealthy.

This disadvantage should not be increased by the state over-taxing the poor.

J.D. Kesler

Senior, Political Science