Utah Property Tax Exemptions, Amendment C (2016)
| Utah Amendment C | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 8, 2016 | |
| Topic Property | |
Status Defeated | |
| Type Constitutional amendment | Origin State legislature |
| 2016 measures |
|---|
 |
| November 8 |
Amendment A  |
| Amendment B |
| Amendment C |
| Polls |
| Voter guides |
| Campaign finance |
| Signature costs |
| Utah Constitution |
|---|
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| Preamble |
| Articles |
| I • II • III • IV • V • VI • VII • VIII • IX • X • XI • XII • XIII • XIV • XV • XVI • XVII • XVIII • XX • XXII • XXIII • XXIV |
The Utah Property Tax Exemptions Amendment, also known as Amendment C, was on the November 8, 2016, ballot in Utah as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment.[1] It was defeated.
| A "yes" vote supported allowing the state legislature to exempt tangible personal property leased by the state from property taxes. |
| A "no" vote opposed this proposal allowing the state legislature to exempt tangible personal property leased by the state from property taxes, thereby continuing taxation of such items. |
Election results
| Amendment C | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Votes cast in elections: 1152369 | ||||
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
| No | 572,785 | 57.3% | ||
| Yes | 426,207 | 42.7% | ||
- Election results from Utah Lieutenant Governor
Text of measure
Ballot question
The ballot question was as follows:[2]
| “ |
Shall the Utah Constitution be amended to allow a property tax exemption for tangible personal property that is leased by the state or by a county, city, town, school district, or other political subdivision of the state? |
” |
Constitutional changes
| Amendment C was designed to add the following to Article XIII, Section III, of the Utah Constitution[4] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Be it resolved by the Legislature of the state of Utah, two-thirds of all members elected to each of the two houses voting in favor thereof:
Section 1. It is proposed to amend Utah Constitution, Article XIII, Section 3, to read:
Article XIII, Section 3. [Property tax exemptions.]
(1) The following are exempt from property tax:
(a) property owned by the State;
(b) property owned by a public library;
(c) property owned by a school district;
(d) property owned by a political subdivision of the State, other than a school district, and located within the political subdivision;
(e) property owned by a political subdivision of the State, other than a school district, and located outside the political subdivision unless the Legislature by statute authorizes the property tax on that property;
(f) property owned by a nonprofit entity used exclusively for religious, charitable, or educational purposes;
(g) places of burial not held or used for private or corporate benefit;
(h) farm equipment and farm machinery as defined by statute;
(i) water rights, reservoirs, pumping plants, ditches, canals, pipes, flumes, power plants, and transmission lines to the extent owned and used by an individual or corporation to irrigate land that is:
(i) within the State; and
(ii) owned by the individual or corporation, or by an individual member of the corporation; and
(j) (i) if owned by a nonprofit entity and used within the State to irrigate land, provide domestic water, as defined by statute, or provide water to a public water supplier:
(A) water rights; and
(B) reservoirs, pumping plants, ditches, canals, pipes, flumes, and, as defined by statute, other water infrastructure;
(ii) land occupied by a reservoir, ditch, canal, or pipe that is exempt under Subsection (1)(j)(i)(B) if the land is owned by the nonprofit entity that owns the reservoir, ditch, canal, or pipe; and
(iii) land immediately adjacent to a reservoir, ditch, canal, or pipe that is exempt under Subsection (1)(j)(i)(B) if the land is:
(A) owned by the nonprofit entity that owns the adjacent reservoir, ditch, canal, or pipe; and
(B) reasonably necessary for the maintenance or for otherwise supporting the operation of the reservoir, ditch, canal, or pipe.
(2) (a) The Legislature may by statute exempt the following from property tax:
(i) tangible personal property constituting inventory present in the State on January 1 and held for sale in the ordinary course of business;
(ii) tangible personal property present in the State on January 1 and held for sale or processing and shipped to a final destination outside the State within 12 months;
(iii) subject to Subsection (2)(b), property to the extent used to generate and deliver electrical power for pumping water to irrigate lands in the State;
(iv) up to 45% of the fair market value of residential property, as defined by statute;
(v) household furnishings, furniture, and equipment used exclusively by the owner of that property in maintaining the owner's home; and
(vi) tangible personal property that, if subject to property tax, would generate an inconsequential amount of revenue.
(b) The exemption under Subsection (2)(a)(iii) shall accrue to the benefit of the users of pumped water as provided by statute.
(3) The following may be exempted from property tax as provided by statute:
(a) property owned by a disabled person who, during military training or a military conflict, was disabled in the line of duty in the military service of the United States or the State;
(b) property owned by the unmarried surviving spouse or the minor orphan of a person who:
(i) is described in Subsection (3)(a); or
(ii) during military training or a military conflict, was killed in action or died in the line of duty in the military service of the United States or the State; | |||||
Support
The following legislators sponsored SJR 3:[1]
- Sen. Wayne Harper (R-6)
- Rep. Ken Ivory (R-47)
Opposition
The following legislators voted against SJR 3 in the Utah House of Representatives:[5]
- Rep. Joel Briscoe (D-25)
- Rep. Rebecca Chavez-Houck (D-24)
- Rep. Sue Duckworth (D-22)
- Rep. Lynn Hemingway (D-40)
- Rep. Sandra Hollins (D-23)
- Rep. Brian King (D-28)
- Rep. Carol Moss (D-37)
- Rep. Marie Poulson (D-46)
- Rep. Angela Romero (D-26)
- Rep. Mark Wheatley (D-35)
Background
Tangible personal property
According to the Utah State Tax Commission's Property Tax Division, tangible personal property is "equipment, machinery, furniture or other tangible personal property that is functioning at its highest and best use for the purpose it was designed and constructed and is generally capable of performing that function without being combined with other items of personal property. An item of taxable tangible personal property is not an individual component part of a piece of machinery or equipment but the item of machinery or equipment as a whole. For example, a fully functioning computer is an item of taxable tangible personal property but the motherboard, hard drive, tower or sound card are not." Going into the election, tangible personal property leased from an individual by the state was subject to property taxation, but the proposed amendment was designed to exempt that type of property from taxation in such a case.[6]
Campaign finance
| Total campaign contributions: | |
| Support: | $0.00 |
| Opposition: | $0.00 |
As of February 17, 2017, no ballot question committees were registered to support or oppose Amendment C.[7]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Amending the Utah Constitution
According to the Utah Constitution, a two-thirds vote was required in one legislative session of the Utah Legislature to qualify the amendment for the ballot. The legislation associated with the Utah Property Tax Exemptions Amendment, SJR 3, was first introduced to the Utah State Senate on January 28, 2016, and on February 22, 2016, the Senate unanimously approved SJR 3, with 26 voting yea.[8] The bill was introduced to the Utah House of Representatives on February 22, 2016, and passed during its third reading in the House on March 10, 2016, with 61 voting yea and 10 voting nay.[9][5]
Senate vote
February 22, 2016 Senate vote
| Utah SJR 3 House Vote | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
| Yes | 26 | 89.66% | ||
| No | 0 | 00.00% | ||
House vote
March 10, 2016 House vote
| Utah SJR 3 House Vote | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
| Yes | 61 | 81.33% | ||
| No | 10 | 13.33% | ||
State profile
| Demographic data for Utah | ||
|---|---|---|
| Utah | U.S. | |
| Total population: | 2,990,632 | 316,515,021 |
| Land area (sq mi): | 82,170 | 3,531,905 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White: | 87.6% | 73.6% |
| Black/African American: | 1.1% | 12.6% |
| Asian: | 2.2% | 5.1% |
| Native American: | 1.1% | 0.8% |
| Pacific Islander: | 0.9% | 0.2% |
| Two or more: | 2.6% | 3% |
| Hispanic/Latino: | 13.4% | 17.1% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate: | 91.2% | 86.7% |
| College graduation rate: | 31.1% | 29.8% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income: | $60,727 | $53,889 |
| Persons below poverty level: | 12.7% | 11.3% |
| Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Utah. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | ||
Presidential voting pattern
- See also: Presidential voting trends in Utah
Utah voted Republican in all six presidential elections between 2000 and 2020.
More Utah coverage on Ballotpedia
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Related measures
2016
| Property measures on the ballot in 2016 | |
|---|---|
| State | Measures |
| Florida | Florida Property Tax Exemptions for Senior Citizens, Amendment 5 |
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Utah personal property tax exemptions amendment 2016. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Open States, "SJR 3," accessed June 3, 2016
- ↑ Utah Lieutenant Governor's Office: Elections, "2016 General Election Certification," August 31, 2016
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source. Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "quotedisclaimer" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ Utah State Legislature, "Enrolled Copy S.J.R. 3 PROPOSAL TO AMEND UTAH CONSTITUTION- PROPERTY TAX EXEMPTIONS," accessed June 13, 2016
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Utah.gov, "SJR003 - - Passed 61 - 10 - 4, 3/10/2016 9:05 AM," March 10, 2016
- ↑ Utah State Tax Commission Property Tax Division, "Valuation Guidelines," accessed August 26, 2016
- ↑ Utah Disclosures,"Public search - campaign finance disclosures," accessed November 4, 2016
- ↑ Utah.gov, "SJR003 - - Passed 26 - 0 - 3, 2/22/2016 11:37 AM," February 22, 2016
- ↑ Utah.gov, "S.J.R. 3 Proposal to Amend Utah Constitution- Property Tax Exemptions," accessed April 25, 2016
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