Kaysville, UT – On Dec 8th, Governor Spencer J. Cox and Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson announced that their fiscal year 2024 budget recommendations will include $1 billion in tax cuts and a $6,000 compensation increase for every teacher in the state.

The announcements at Centennial Jr. High in Kaysville come a day before Gov. Cox and Lt. Gov. Henderson release their full FY 24 budget recommendations. 

On the tax side, specific proposals include an income tax rate reduction, an expansion of the dependent exemption to include a $250 refundability provision, a dependent exemption for pregnant women, expanding Social Security tax phase out, a one-time income tax rebate, a property tax reduction, an expansion of the circuit breaker credit, and returning service fees through the Universal Service Fund.

“Utah’s strength is in its people,” Gov. Cox said. “Returning hard-earned dollars to Utahns who are struggling from the impacts of inflation is the right thing to do and will support the families who need it most.”

These ongoing and one-time income tax and property tax recommendations, together with cuts made over the past two years, total more than $1.3 billion in tax relief for Utahns. This amounts to the largest tax cuts by a single administration in state history.

Gov. Cox also recommended a $6,000 compensation increase for Utah teachers, which includes approximately $4,600 plus benefits for every teacher. Gov. Cox recommends additional one-time funds so that this increase begins this fiscal year.

“Teachers make a tremendous difference in our lives and we need Utah’s best and brightest to become teachers,” Gov. Cox said. “Getting and keeping high-quality, qualified educators in classrooms will do wonders for our K-12 students, and this pay increase will help us do that.”

Total recommendations for education are more than $1.52 billion, including a 5% WPU increase, a total of $476.9 for educator support, funding for students at risk of academic failure, and 95.6% of the funds needed to have optional all-day kindergarten available for every family.

Gov. Cox’s full FY 24 budget recommendations will be released at a press conference on Friday, Dec. 9, 2022, and can be found at gopb.utah.gov after the release.

You can find highlights of the governor’s tax and education proposals here. Video of the full announcement is here.