SALT LAKE CITY — Gov. Spencer Cox wants to give about a thousand bucks apiece to more than 150,000 Utahns.
How? By eliminating the state’s tax on Social Security.
It’s a central piece of Cox’s proposed budget for fiscal 2026 as he seeks to invest more in Utah’s aging and veteran populations.
His $30.6 billion plan, unveiled Thursday at the William E. Christoffersen Salt Lake Veterans Home, prioritizes “people, place and prosperity,” Cox said, and earmarks funding for aging Utahns, energy development and public education, among other areas.
It’s the biggest spending plan in state history, even as Cox says Utah’s economy is less “robust” than in previous years as COVID-era revenue streams — including federal stimulus funds — dry up.
“What we’re really seeing is a normalization of growth in our state,” Cox told The Salt Lake Tribune’s editorial board Wednesday afternoon.
The keystone of Cox’s budget is a plan to eliminate the state income tax on Social Security benefits, which the governor’s office says will save more than 150,000 Utahns close to $1,000 a year. The tax break would take a $143.8 million bite out of the state’s revenue pie.
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