When some Wasatch County residents saw that their 2022 property tax bills doubled, they knew something was wrong. What they didn’t know was that they were about to uncover a systemic failure in Utah’s property tax assessment system — one that creates unfair winners and losers among taxpayers.

In 2023, three Wasatch County taxpayers filed a lawsuit against the county assessor and state Tax Commission, exposing a troubling pattern of non-compliance with state law. Their investigation revealed a startling truth: While about 60% of property owners faced substantial tax increases, roughly 34% — including all commercial properties — actually received a 20% tax decrease. How did this happen in a state whose constitution requires fair and equitable taxation?

The answer lies in a critical failure to follow the law. Since 1993, the Utah Code has required county assessors to use computer-assisted mass appraisal systems to reassess all properties annually — not every five years, not when convenient.

When properties aren’t uniformly reassessed, it creates a hidden shift in the tax burden. Since the majority of county revenue comes from property taxes, those whose properties are reassessed end up shouldering a disproportionate share of the county’s expenses, effectively subsidizing those whose properties remain undervalued.

We began our investigation in August 2022 and reported to the Wasatch County Council the problem we observed.

In late 2022, the state Auditor’s Office had received multiple complaints. They then began to assemble a database of the property tax data from all 29 Utah counties.

Using their database, our investigation expanded beyond Wasatch County, and the results are troubling:

• Only 24 of 29 counties even responded to the state auditor’s request for data. And of those 24, only 13 provided sufficient data for analysis.
• Just three counties — Salt Lake, Davis, and Washington — demonstrated good performance, achieving over 90% compliance with reassessment requirements.
• The remaining 26 counties fell significantly short of legal requirements.

The state Tax Commission, tasked with oversight and enforcement, has failed in its fundamental duties. During a public hearing in August 2022, a Tax Commission representative actually admitted that the Wasatch County assessor “did not comply with the law but did better than last year” — as if partial compliance with state law were somehow acceptable.

This systematic failure demands immediate reform:

• The Legislature must actively monitor the Tax Commission’s oversight performance.
• The Tax Commission needs to integrate the State Auditor’s database into its
  management process.
• All counties must be required by law to submit annual property tax records.
• Non-compliant officials must face real consequences, including removal from office if necessary.

The current system isn’t just bureaucratic inefficiency — it’s a hidden tax shift that unfairly burdens some property owners while giving others an unearned break. When some property owners pay more than their fair share, it undermines the very principle of equitable taxation enshrined in our state constitution. This problem is particularly critical in years of high inflation as has occurred in recent years.

The solution isn’t complicated. Davis County has proven that over 90% compliance is
achievable. What’s lacking isn’t capability but accountability. As taxpayers, we deserve a system that fairly distributes the cost of county services across all property owners — not one that creates hidden winners and losers based on which properties an assessor decides to reassess.

The path forward requires transparency, accountability and a commitment to following existing law. Our county services depend on property tax revenue, but that burden must be shared equitably among all property owners.

It’s time for Utah to fix its broken property tax assessment system and ensure that everyone pays their fair share — no more, no less.

William Quapp, a Heber City resident, represents Fair Tax Associates.

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