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SALT LAKE CITY — A Utah lawmaker is proposing a tax cut, though the state has had to make numerous budget cuts in recent years.
Representative John Dougall believes people can use their money more wisely than the government, which has prompted the representative to propose HB299, which would drop the state income tax from 5 percent to 4 percent and the state sales tax from 4.7 percent to 3.5 percent.
Because the state of Utah has a projected budget surplus for 2012, Dougall believes it is essential for the argument to be made now about making some tax cuts.
And for those who are struggling to make ends meet in a slow, but recovering economy, the news of tax cuts is a popular decision.
"Oh yeah. To reduce taxes — the state that we're in right now — I think it would help a lot," said welder Joel Butler.
I think that basically solidifies the point that we can get away with a tax deduction if there is a budget surplus.
–Mike Suddith
Veteran Mike Suddith also liked the idea of lowering taxes in Utah, saying a budget surplus is an indication of a need to reduce taxes. "I think that basically solidifies the point that we can get away with a tax deduction if there is a budget surplus."
However, the proposed bill does not appear to be an easy sell, even among members of the Republican Party.
Bountiful Representative Jim Nielson said he still has questions about going forward with a tax cut, considering himself undecided on the issue. He questions the current overall earnings statewide with what the state was earning six years ago before the economy dropped.
Nielson is also sponsoring his own bill — HB210 — which goes in conjunction with a constitutional amendment to take severance taxes and put it in a trust fund for the future, instead of spending the taxes each year.
Nielson contends the state is basically spending our children's and grandchildren's money, and his bill would be a better way to save for the future. Under his bill, Utah would use earning off the trust fund.
