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A higher cigarette tax won't fix Utah's budget woes -- that's the message from the Utah Taxpayers Association to lawmakers on Utah's Capitol Hill.
The Utah Taxpayers Association believes any tax that targets a small part of the population, like the cigarette tax, is just not sound tax policy. Vice president Royce Van Tassell says good tax policy applies a low rate over a broad base.
"And what that suggests is, let's go with a really narrow base - only the cigarette users or the tobacco users, and have an extraordinarily high rate," he said.
He's concerned that would make Utah less competitive economically. "It's going to drive fugitive sales, people buying cigarettes over the Internet or going to Wendover, going to Evanston to buy that, and then Utah businesses are being hurt," he said.
Van Tassell's also worried that raising the gas tax without lowering the income tax doesn't account for how much taxpayers are already suffering.
"I think everyone knows that there's a lot of pressure to raise taxes. And what legislators and the governor need to recognize is that the pressure the taxing entities feel comes precisely because taxpayers are having trouble keeping money in their own pockets, and that's the important thing. We need to make sure that taxpayers are protected and preserve the services that are necessary. But if we're going to raise, say a gas tax, we should definitely look at cutting the income tax."
The advice comes on a day when Utah lawmakers have approved a salary cut for themselves. Starting after the current legislation, legislators will make $16 less per day during a session. Currently, they make $130 per day.
The Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee will take a look at the tax on tobacco products along with several other tax issues in a committee meeting this afternoon.
You'll find much more about the current taxes and policies involving tobacco products in Utah at this link.
E-mail: bbruce@ksl.com
