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Let’s start 2004 with a cliché: no one knows for sure what the New Year will bring.
One significant possibility, though, is an overhaul of Utah’s tax system.
Last month, Governor Olene Walker got things going. She introduced a team of tax policy advisors and charged them with formulating a tax reform plan. Walker says she’ll unveil her plan August 1 and proceed to hold hearings throughout the state. She intends to force the issue during the fall election season.
It is an ambitious, even brave undertaking considering all that is at stake. But as one official put it, the state’s tax system “has morphed in ways that were never intended” and “it is time to fix it.”
The road to tax reform won’t be easy. It is congested with existing tax breaks for a wide variety of special interest groups. There are sacred cows galore. Among the many obstacles are entrenched legislators who inherently resist tackling anything that may affect their political standing.
Expect a battle royal, regardless of what’s proposed.
In KSL’s view, it’s a battle that is timely and worth entering into, especially when the state has a governor who seems less concerned about her political future than with genuinely trying to accomplish something worthwhile during her term in office.
So let the battle begin and let’s see what 2004 brings.
