No exemption is automatically protected - no matter how badly a lobbyist or special interest wants it to be.

The Legislature's new Tax Reform Task Force will scrutinize all areas of Utah's antiquated code to create a system that responds to the new information-based economy, according to the task force's co-chairman, Sen. Curtis Bramble, R-Provo.

That includes revisiting the exemption on a family's home and the taxes set aside for education under the Utah Constitution.

"Everything is going to be on the table," he said Tuesday, tired of talking to people who are for tax reform in general so long as it avoids any tax provision that directly benefits their business or organization.

"If we start to carve out sacred cows, pretty soon all you have are sacred cows," Bramble said.

But the task force has to meet before lawmakers can even discuss the sacred cows of Utah's tax system.

Legislators initially intended to start developing a new tax plan shortly after the session ended in March, with the goal of producing a comprehensive bill before the next session begins in January.

But the House of Representatives has yet to name any Republican lawmakers to the task force. And the delay has thrown into question whether lawmakers can develop a consensus by year's end.

"I don't know if we can actually get it done that quickly," Bramble told the attendees at a business-sponsored Utah Taxpayers Association conference.

House Majority Leader Jeff Alexander said the delay is due to an oversight in the makeup of this and other task forces during the general session. House Republicans want the membership of the task force to have the same proportions as the entire body, meaning more spots for Republicans than originally planned.

To do that, Alexander sponsored a bill in the special legislative session called by Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. earlier this month.

Alexander said Republican leaders will name their seven task force members early next week.

The only representative who knows he has a spot is Wayne Harper, R-West Jordan, who at the request of Huntsman sponsored a bill that would repeal the corporate income tax.

The bill failed in the House because lawmakers were concerned about how to replace the $200 million in corporate tax revenue that goes to education.

Harper, who will co-chair the task force, and Bramble will try to incorporate the corporate tax repeal into the task force's efforts.

Harper also wants to limit the number of tax exemptions on the state's income tax form, and Bramble said he would like to look at the sales tax on services that are now exempt, such as attorney fees and real estate commissions.

Both lawmakers support changes to the real property tax paid by businesses. They say this tax structure worked well when the economy was based on mining and agriculture, but new companies that deal in technology and online services shouldn't have to track the depreciation of office equipment.

The basic principle that both Harper and Bramble espouse is that more services and items should be taxed, but the tax rates should generally be smaller.

Lt. Gov. Gary Herbert, who also spoke to the taxpayers association's conference, said Utah's tax system was last revised in 1959 and that time has bred inequities.

"We need a tax code that doesn't play favorites," he said. "The time, we believe, to act is now."

mcanham@sltrib.com

Lt. Gov. Gary Herbert's five tax principles

l Transparent: "Taxpayers ought not to be caught in a maze of paperwork."

l Revenue sufficient for government needs "to maintain the level of services."

l Efficient: "Not a tax policy that stifles business."

l Equitable: "The ability-to-pay factor" for the poor.

l Simple: "Easy to comply with, easy to enforce."