If you make less than $6,800 a year - even up to about $28,000 - there's little chance you would pay more in state income tax.

But Utah's "CEO class" gets particular consideration from Huntsman and his advisers. Utahns making more than $240,000 a year are six times more likely to have their tax bill go down than up if lawmakers lower the state's income tax rate from 7 percent to Huntsman's proposed 5 percent top rate.

On the other hand, some in the middle - those earning between $56,650 and $138,500 a year - likely will get squeezed.

There's a theory to it all. Huntsman wants to protect the lowest-income Utahns from bearing the brunt of tax reform. Many earning middle income wages are overextended and subsidized by the state's current "corrupted" tax structure, according to the governor's team of economists and accountants.

And they figure business leaders who pay less income tax are more likely to locate their companies in Utah, bringing additional workers with them who will pay taxes and thus make up any difference in revenue - and more.

"We make no apologies for that," accountant and Huntsman adviser Keith Prescott has said. "That's the economic engine of our state."

But for many Utahns who likely will see their tax bills grow, the promise of economic development may be a weak explanation for such a tax policy.

Overall, Huntsman's original income-tax reform plan makes tens of thousands more Utahns winners than losers, according to a Salt Lake Tribune analysis of general estimates provided by Huntsman's advisers. Roughly 400,000 Utah households would see a tax cut, compared to 300,000 who would have to write a bigger check to the state. Another 200,000 wouldn't be helped or hurt.

The numbers do not take into account two changes lawmakers already are planning for the governor's proposal - removing a cap on exemptions and inserting a tax credit for mortgage interest.

Those whose tax bills would go up under the Huntsman model are represented at every income level, but there are only a few tax brackets where they outnumber those whose taxes will be cut. There is a tiny pocket of losers near the bottom, with incomes between about $6,800 and $7,800. Most of those are single filers, students who are claimed on their parents' returns but who can claim a $6,000 exemption under the governor's plan and will pay some tax on their remaining income. Their parents also can claim a $4,000 exemption. Most taxpayers in those income ranges will not be affected by the governor's plan, one way or the other.

Most of the losers are packed into middle- and upper-middle-class income brackets. Of the one in five Utahns who earn $57,000 to $139,000, just more than 60 percent would pay a tax increase under the governor's original calculations.

The Huntsman tax plan apparently includes an anomaly for single, moderate-income taxpayers. An analysis by legislative staff found that tax bills for single taxpayers earning $25,000 to $35,000 would grow between $28 and $341. That pattern changes as the taxpayer's income goes up, with some single taxpayers' bills being cut.

In a large sweep of income ranges, those whose annual incomes run from $4,475 to $62,950, the winners far outnumber the losers. (The exception is the tiny pocket of losers previously mentioned.) Of the more than 500,000 Utahns within those income ranges, nearly two-thirds would pay less in state income tax under the governor's plan.

"There are winners and losers in this plan at all levels. But the governor's concern has been to protect low and middle-income Utah," Prescott told lawmakers two weeks ago. "We have tried as hard as we can to make it happen."

Toby Dillon apparently is one of those cushioned by Huntsman's plan. He and his wife have three young children. He makes about $29,000 a year and set aside about 10 percent of his income for charity last year. He has plugged his numbers into the governor's tax calculator (at http://www.utah.gov).

"We still won't owe state income tax, but only barely," said Dillon. "The tax proposal remains 'flat' for us - as long as I don't get a substantial raise."

For at least one sizeable group of Utahns - the 20 percent of taxpayers making between $57,000 and $139,000 - the news is not so good. Under Huntsman's original tax proposal, many would pay more. The governor's team argues most of those whose state income tax would go up are living beyond their means, driving costly cars and living in large homes with first and second, even third mortgages. Their tax bills would increase as they lose credit for federal deductions and taxes under Huntsman's plan.

"Most of the changes are going to be fairly small," Prescott said, as little as $1 in either direction.

Some in that bracket haven't bothered to calculate their taxes, figuring fatalistically that they will pay more.

Brigitte Murdock and her husband take no deductions, have no debt, live frugally, saved for retirement and "will not be considered in any of the new-fandangled tax calculations," Murdock said. "Until they take tax incentives away from prolific people so that they are allowed to raise a decent number of kids on their own, the ones with no kids will always be called upon to pay more."

Despite the apparent skew to the middle class, Utah Taxpayers Association Vice President Mike Jerman still supports the "sound principles" of the governor's plan. He agrees with Huntsman advisers' conclusions that the state's current tax structure ends up facilitating many Utahns' risky, debt-heavy lifestyle, leading to the state's high bankruptcy and foreclosure rates.

"Certainly a tax policy that encourages - subsidizes - irresponsible behavior is a system that should be changed," Jerman said. He believes some of the middle-class tax burden in Huntsman's plan can be adjusted with minor changes - or a more dramatic $40 million tax cut being considered by lawmakers.

At the same time, he says, giving higher-income Utahns a tax break is an incentive for economic development. His association is funded by Utah businesses.

Jerman points out that Utah's middle-income and high-income taxpayers pay a roughly equal share of the state's income tax revenue. In 2003, revenue generated by the 15 percent of Utahns earning $50,000 to $75,000 made up about 21 percent of the money dedicated to schools. At the same time, the 1 percent of Utahns earning more than $250,000 paid 19 percent of the state's income tax.

"We're having a hard time attracting high-income jobs," Jerman said. "Utah can get a very large bang for the buck just by bringing in a handful of top-paid executives."

Tribune editor Dan Harrie contributed to this story.

Some of the state deductions you'll lose

l Medical Savings Account

l Utah Educational Savings Plan

l Health Care Insurance Premiums

l Long-term Care Insurance Premiums

l Adoption Expenses

l Nonresident Active Duty Military Pay

l National Guard and Reserves Active Duty Military Pay

l $7,500 retiree deduction

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Some of the credits you'll lose

l At-Home Parent

l Clean Fuel Vehicle

l Historical Preservation

l Low-Income Housing

l Tutoring for Disabled Dependents

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Two federal exemptions preserved

l Native American Reservation Income

l Railroad Retiree Income

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The exemptions you'll get

l $12,000 per household

l $6,000 for single taxpayers

l $4,000 per person (capped at five under

the governor's original plan)