Editor's Note: The following is a rebuttal written by Cedar City resident Burke Wilkerson to a column I wrote recently about the tax inequity in Utah as it relates to those of us who are the owners of second homes in the state.

Read it and weep especially realizing that out-of-state property owners in Utah are being taken advantage of and people like Wilkerson apparently feel that's just fine. For the record, I have another column coming out next week.

 
Mike Henle's article titled "So. Nevadans tired of carrying the load in So. Utah" published in the Cedar City Neighborhoods section of the Daily News for the week of April 28, is missing a few important facts.

In short, Mr. Henle's article stated that Southern Nevadans are being gouged by the State of Utah because they are required to pay real property taxes on 100 percent of the value of their second homes on Cedar Mountain, while Utah residents are only required to pay property taxes on 45 percent of the value of their primary residences. (I'm assuming prior to construction these disgruntled Southern Nevada second homeowners were aware they would be required to pay property taxes on 100 percent of the value of their homes, and determined that it was still a prudent decision to invest on Cedar Mountain?).

The first obvious fact that Mr. Henle failed to discuss is the important distinction between a second home and a primary residence. An individual owning property in Utah that is deemed to be their primary residence is generally considered to be a resident of the state, and is therefore also subject to personal income tax - taxes Southern Nevada second homeowners are not required to pay.

I'm confident the Utah State Tax Commission would be happy to collect personal income taxes on the higher Southern Nevada incomes being earned by those second homeowners that choose to file for permanent, full-time residency in Utah to avoid being gouged on real property taxes as suggested in Mr. Henle's article.

Additionally, a resident must must also pay property taxes on their automobiles and other personal property licensed in Utah. Again, taxes not paid by Southern Nevada second homeowners.

Another fact that Mr. Henle overlooked is that residents of Utah also presumably spend the majority of their disposable income in their respective local communities, which translates into the payment of sales taxes not being paid nearly to the same extent by Southern Nevadans. Other than weekend fuel purchases at local gas stations and occasional purchases of forgotten grocery items, I doubt a material amount of sales tax is being collected from Southern
Nevada second home owners.

In summary, although Southern Nevadans owning second homes on Cedar Mountain may not enjoy the benefits of the services and necessities provided by taxes collected by the State of Utah as frequently as residents, the equalizing fact is they also do not pay an equal portion of the whole.

Burke Wilkerson
Cedar City

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