Utah deserves a way to eliminate the state sales tax on grocery store food that doesn’t threaten education funding. The Utah Legislature passed a bill (HB54) that purports to eliminate the state sales tax on groceries, but it only takes effect if voters in November 2024 approve a measure (SJR10) that would severely weaken the school funding guarantees in our state Constitution.
We believe voters deserve better. We are among a growing number of volunteers with Clean The Darn Air, a grassroots group collecting signatures to put a clean-air-and-climate measure on the ballot in November 2024. Our proposal would also eliminate the state sales tax on groceries, plus it would expand the state’s Earned Income Tax Credit match for low-income working families and fund $100 million a year in clean air programs, all of it paid for with a modest carbon tax on the fossil fuels that are the main cause of local air pollution and global climate change.
We encourage our fellow Utahns to help ensure that voters have a real choice in November 2024. Both SJR 10 and our proposal will eliminate the state sales tax on groceries, but only one of them invests in our future instead of threatening our children. Please visit DarnAir.org to volunteer and support Clean The Darn Air.
Dennis J. Mullen, West Jordan, Lisa Rutherford, Ivins