SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah State Tax Commission told the Revenue and Taxation Interim Committee on Sept. 16 that it has identified about nine cities or towns that appear to have reauthorized a 0.1% city‑level local option tax for botanical, cultural, recreational and zoological organizations (commonly called ZAP, RAP or PAR taxes) without documented voter approval, and that it has asked those jurisdictions to provide proof of voter authorization.

Rebecca Rockwell, a commissioner at the Utah State Tax Commission, outlined the statute (Title 59, Chapter 12, Part 14) that authorizes a 0.1% city or town option funding tax for botanical, cultural, recreational and zoological organizations and facilities. Rockwell said the commission sent letters requesting proof of voter reauthorization and set a calendar for jurisdictions that have not yet supplied proof:

- If a city does not provide evidence it obtained the required voter approval before Oct. 1, 2025, the commission said it will stop collecting the tax in that jurisdiction starting Jan. 1, 2026.

- The commission also said it will allow jurisdictions that plan to place the reauthorization on the November 2025 ballot to provide proof of that intent before Oct. 1; if voters then do not approve the measure in November, the commission said it would stop collecting the tax in that jurisdiction beginning April 1, 2026.

Rebecca Rockwell noted that more than 50 cities and towns currently impose the tax at 0.1% for qualifying purposes and that a corresponding county option exists; a city must obtain voter approval before imposing the tax and the tax is typically authorized for a 10‑year period, after which voter reauthorization is required.

Local governments and municipal league respond

Cameron Dill, executive director of the Utah League of Cities and Towns, told the committee he and his association had contacted the jurisdictions on the commission’s list and that most are small, non‑Wasatch Front communities intending to place reauthorization on the November ballot. ‘‘As of now, of all the communities that were initially identified on the list that the tax commission gave us, we are only aware of one that was unsuccessful to put it on the ballot this year,’’ Dill said. He also said some jurisdictions had already received voter approval earlier but had not notified the commission; the league has helped connect those records to the commission’s staff.

Public comment and refunds

Billy Hesterman of the Utah Taxpayers Association urged the committee to identify the affected cities and the dollar amounts collected without voter authorization and to consider whether taxpayers should be refunded. When Representative Fillmore asked whether illegally collected taxes should be returned if reauthorization is later approved, Dill noted that the original imposition was correct but some reauthorization steps were missing; he also noted that a taxpayer can seek a refund in court for up to three years of collections under current law. Committee staff later indicated that the total collected across the jurisdictions within the three‑year statute of limitations was about $1.7 million.

What’s next: The tax commission has sent notices and allowed a narrow window for jurisdictions to provide proof of voter reauthorization or proof they intend to place a reauthorization on the November ballot. Staff said that if proof is not supplied on the schedule spelled out in the commission’s letters, collections in those jurisdictions will stop on the dates specified above.

Background: The ZAP‑type local option tax is often referred to in shorthand as ZAP, RAP or PAR and has been used by cities and towns to fund cultural, botanical, recreational and zoological facilities or organizations. The tax is a local option sales and use tax imposed at 0.1% and typically requires voter approval at imposition and at reauthorization points.