Lawmakers Favoring a Tax Reduction This Year

Richard Piatt ReportingIt looks like we'll get a tax reduction this year. But Utah lawmakers aren't really sure what kind of tax cut that will be. But they're spending a lot of time talking about it on Capitol Hill right now.

Certain individuals, including the Governor, know what kind of tax cut they'd like. But there needs to be agreement about what taxes are cut and by how much. And right now, they're not even close.

The House is ready for a floor debate. A starting point would encompass both income taxes and the food sales tax.

House Bill 123 would take more than 300 million dollars to change income tax rates, lower the sales tax rate on food and raise the sales tax credit. The only sticking point is that this plan differs from the governor's proposal.

And the Senate is taking a slightly different view. The bottom line: there is still plenty of work to do, but the cut is likely to happen.

Sen. Curtis Bramble, Senate Majority Leader: "We're waiting for the house now to find direction that they would like to go as far as the size of the tax cut. But more specifically what taxes they would propose under whatever tax cut they propose."

Rep. John Dougall (R) American Fork: "I think everyone is in agreement there will be some sort of tax cut. The governor's calling for it, the senate proposing it, the house republican caucus is proposing it. There will be tax cuts, the question will be what magnitude and what taxes will be cut."

Representative Dougall told me he thinks debate on this issue might last the entire session, even until the last night.

But that doesn't mean things are tense over the issue--at least not yet. There's still plenty of time for that.

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