Tuesday, the Tax Reform Task Force approved a schedule and an array of possible tax changes to be examined before a Nov. 30 deadline. Agreeing on a list of goals and principles took up most of the time during the hour-long meeting.
Democrats, who occupy three of the panel's 15 seats, were rebuffed in their attempts to tone down the small-government, tax-limitation thrust of some of the guiding principles.
Majority Republicans on the task force made it clear they want to strive for "right-size government through correct tax policy." Another principle adopted Tuesday is that government should live within a budget and "should not always expect more revenue."
But as Salt Lake City Democratic Rep. Roz McGee pointed out, state government already is required by the Utah Constitution to balance its budget.
The GOP-dominated task force did make one concession to Democrats: adding as a goal the creation of a fair system in which "taxpayers in similar circumstances have similar tax burdens."
Task force leaders have said they will use former Gov. Olene Walker's tax-reform package as a starting point in their study. Produced late last year after months of private deliberation, that package of recommendations included elimination of the corporate income tax, adoption of a single-rate "flat tax" for individual income earners, extension of sales taxes to services and an increase in property taxes.
Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. and task force chairmen Sen. Curtis Bramble and Rep. Wayne Harper support a phase-out of the corporate income tax. But where the task force comes down on that and other changes remains to be seen.
Task Force Objectives
The Tax Reform Task Force will meet twice a month - every second Wednesday and third Thursday. Among other topics, it will explore:
* Changing the current 45 percent property tax exemption for residential-home owners and the lack of any exemption for second-home owners.
* Undoing the constitutional earmarking of income tax collections for education.
* Changing the state's
24.5 cents-per-gallon gas tax.
* Adopting a single-rate statewide sales tax.
* Allowing or barring local impact fees.
* Banning "social programs" funded through phone bills (apparently including 911 emergency service, hearing-impaired telecommunications and rural telephone subsidies).
