Is it a Breath of Fresh Air? Costs and Benefits of a Transportation Tax Credit Brian Wikle Office of the Legislative Fiscal Analyst Resolution: • The Utah State government should provide a tax credit or incentive to Utah businesses that provide their employees with a public transit pass. Resolution: • The Utah State government should provide a tax credit or incentive to Utah businesses that provide their employees with a public transit pass. Utah State reduces taxes for a business A business buys a transit pass for employees How do People Get to Work? How do People Get to Work? • Costs for each option • Benefits for each option Costs • Gasoline • Car repairs • Time to drive • Risk of accident • Air pollution • Road congestion Benefits • Door to door • Flexible schedule • Flexible route • Privacy Costs • Ticket cost • Time to ride • UTA schedule • Not door to door Benefits • Less road congestion • Cleaner air ??? Costs and Benefits of the Resolution Costs • Less convenient • More time Benefits • Free transportation Costs and Benefits of the Resolution Costs Benefits • Buying transit passes • Lower tax payments Costs and Benefits of the Resolution Costs • Lower tax revenue Benefits • Less road congestion • Cleaner air ??? Congestion • Some commuters use transit even though they own a car; they may reduce the number of vehicles on roads by 21,000 round trips each day. (Office of the Utah Legislative Auditor General) • What percent of employees provided a transit pass will use it rather than their own car? Cleaner air ???