Salt Lake City News

MAD TAX BEYOND THE THUNDERDOME

Tax Plans Passed at Special Legislative Session

By Tracy Medley, 9-19-06

Utah lawmakers met Tuesday to discuss two significant tax issues: the increase of sales tax to fund transportation projects and the introduction of Gov. Huntsman’s “dual-track,” flat tax initiative, which would change the way many Utahns pay their income taxes.

The House voted 55 – 19 in favor of allowing counties to raise sales tax by a quarter of a penny to create more funds for transportation projects. The bill, which will now make its way to the Senate, must also meet with voter approval before taking affect…and voters might want to read the fine print come vote time.

The decidedly more complicated issue of getting Utah on the flat tax-fast track passed in the Senate, but not without debate from Senate Democrats who argued passionately against the plan saying it would take almost $76 million away from education without any guarantees of increased state revenue in the future. Opponents of the flat tax plan also claim that with $76 million the state could afford to pay the salaries of 1200 new teachers and at the same time reduce bloated class sizes.

Advocates of the governor’s plan say that offering flat tax will attract the wealthy and bring more business to Utah.

The two-track tax bill will not go into affect until it achieves approval in the House, though it is expected to pass.

With the $76 million in tax cuts, Utahns can expect a savings of around $24 per year for single adults. However, according to the Utah Tax Payers Association, the proposed sales tax increase for transportation funding could cost about $50 per year. Huh?

Either my math is fuzzy or many Utahns could find themselves actually paying out an additional $23 per year in state taxes one way or another.

Hopefully the irony of passing these bills on the same day is not lost on the Legislature.

Like this story? Get more! Sign up for our free newsletters.