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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- As Utah lawmakers continue to squabble over the size and shape of a tax cut on Capitol Hill, a new poll shows a majority of Utahns want a significant cut in the tax rate.
A survey by Dan Jones & Associates found 60 percent of Utahns want a large tax cut, while 30 percent say the state should keep its $1.6 billion surplus and funnel it to needy state programs, The Deseret Morning News said in a copyright story Sunday.
The number of those wanting cuts is higher -- 68 percent -- among respondents who identify themselves as Republicans.
The poll of 418 Utah residents was conducted Feb 6-8. It has an error margin of 5 percentage points.
Of the majority, 29 percent favor a $110 million cut as proposed by Gov. Jon Huntsman. Another 9 percent prefer the $150 million cut offered by Senate Republicans, and 22 percent favor a $300 million tax cut as proposed by the GOP-led House.
Currently, leaders in the two bodies are working toward a compromise that could result in $210 million tax cut. Under the deal, Senate leaders could say how $105 million would be returned to Utah taxpayers, while House leaders could dictate how the rest would be carved out of tax revenues.
Last year, lawmakers gave the state $180 million in tax cuts.
Pollsters also found that 50 percent of those who say they are Democrats want a tax cut. Eighteen percent of Democrats said they'd prefer the state spend the money on underfunded state programs.
Another 9 percent of respondents said they didn't know, or had no opinion about a tax cut.
------ Information from: The Deseret Morning News, www.desnews.com
(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) APTV-02-11-07 1327MST
