The package includes corporate tax breaks, including provisions that allow businesses to accelerate their depreciation and claim it on their taxes.

The $65 million will come from the income tax, which funds schools.

"It's just going to be something we have to deal with," said House Speaker Greg Curtis. "It's like falling off your bike. It's painful, but 99 percent of the time, you recover."

At the same time, the state is expecting a $30 million increase in sales tax from the stimulus package. However, that money goes into the general fund to pay for everything except schools. Money can be moved from one fund to another only with legislative approval.

The $65 million could have brought a 2.5 percent increase in per-pupil funding, Curtis said.

Legislative leaders initially removed $116 million from its projected budget to prepare for an expected economic downturn. However, with an expected revenue drop, that leaves little padding.

"It's a substantial amount of money, and we're concerned about it," said John Nixon, executive director of the Governor's Office of Budget and Planning. "We're working through the numbers and will have them ready for next Monday's revenue estimates."

Monday's revenue estimates will give legislators the most up-to-date information on how much money they probably will have to fund roads, schools, salaries and the like for the upcoming budget year.

Nixon is not sure if the federal tax cut will impact the current year or the 2009 fiscal year, which is what the Legislature is currently bud- geting.

"This will impact the original numbers we had," said Rep. Ron Bigelow, House chairman of the Executive Appropriations Committee. "But we still have a lot of money."

smcfarland@sltrib.com