Child-Friendly Utah Seeks Fix for Tax Problem With Big Families

Big families in Utah—the state with the highest birth rate in the nation—face a big tax problem because of the federal tax overhaul.

But child-friendly Utah’s Legislature is likely to take another stab this year at a fix.

The 2017 federal tax law, while increasing overall deductions, eliminated the state tax exemption per dependent that helped lower tax bills for Utahns earning up to about $150,000. With the exemption gone, lower- and middle-income taxpayers with more than three dependents are looking at higher income tax bills in 2019.

Attempts by the Utah Legislature to address the situation in ...