Constitutional Amendment BConstitutional amendment · Put on the ballot by lawmakers
60% Vote for Tax Initiatives
Explain it like I'm 5
Citizen tax proposals usually pass with more than half the votes. This would require six out of ten voters to say yes, like needing six classmates to agree before everyone pays for a project.
Yes vote
Specified statewide citizen initiatives that create or raise taxes, or affect a property-tax reduction, must receive at least 60% approval.
No vote
Those citizen tax initiatives continue to pass with a simple majority.
The question to ask yourself
Should citizen-initiated tax measures need broader support than ordinary majority rule, especially when legislators do not face the same threshold?
The case for
- Tax increases should have broader support than a narrow majority.
- A higher threshold could protect taxpayers from unpopular or narrowly supported tax burdens.
- The rule applies to specified citizen initiatives, not every ballot measure or legislative tax bill.
Backed by: Utah Taxpayers Association, Republican Party of Utah
The case against
- It makes citizen initiatives meet a tougher standard than tax bills passed by legislators.
- More than 40% of voters could block a proposal supported by most voters.
- The higher threshold could make citizen-led solutions harder to enact.
Opposed by: Utahns Protecting Our Constitution, Better Utah, Democratic Party of Utah
- Money
- The amendment itself does not raise or lower taxes, and no reliable dollar estimate for future tax effects is provided.
- Don't be misled
- It is misleading to say this requires 60% approval for all tax increases, because it applies only to specified statewide citizen initiatives.