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SALT LAKE CITY -- The state legislature has to come up with a way to cover an $850 million budget shortfall for 2011, and the Salt Lake Chamber has a few suggestions.
No new general taxes and no more cuts in education. Chamber President Lane Beattie says it's a bad time for both. But he doesn't have a problem with increasing some current fees, like the gas tax.
"We would like to see a 10-cent increase in motor fuel taxes, and that part of it ought to be indexed," he says.
Those taxes would support roads, and Beattie believes Utah needs to keep a commitment to transportation. He says if the state government can become a little more efficient, they will be almost there.
"And we believe with the rainy day fund, with the school funds that were set aside -- of $100 million -- we can close that gap," Beattie says.
E-mail: cwall@ksl.com
