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Show Tax law puts WX in a bind "That's why it isn't really truth in taxation. They put the wrong label on it," Wright said. Wright said the misnomer has made legislators reluctant to address ad-dress the issue, because they fear it would be political suicide to come out against the law. Meanwhile growth and the need for services in Woods Cross and other cities in Davis County continue to grow, and the problem grows worse. Property taxes have never been lower in Woods Cross. The amount collected this year has actually declined over $23,000 from the year before. The city expects to collect $137,000 for this fiscal year. The city collected $160,705 for fiscal year 1990. Under the current rate which Wright said is one of the lowest in the countythe owner of a median $70,000 home would pay $91.28. "We've pretty well ignored the problem because the total dollars involved wasn't that much, but you project it over the decades to come and it will become a problem Wright said. Sales tax pays most of the city's operating costs. Current projections show the city expects to collect $800,000 in sales tax for the 1991 fiscal year. But city officials say a prolonged recession could take a big bite out of the amount of sales tax collected. Property taxes, while smaller, are more consistent and not as likely to be affected by economic downturns. "People always have to pay taxes on their home, but they can quit buying cars, furniture and other things. And when the money gets tight that's usually what happens. Your sales tax dollar is kind of a yoyo yo-yo thing, depending on the economy," Wright explained. Despite the problems with the existing ex-isting law, there isn't much hope it will be repealed or modified. The matter was recently discussed at a League of Cities and Towns convention con-vention Wright attended in St. George. Wright said the mayors were told by legislators they wouldn't touch the law with "a 10-foot pole," because political fallout and public backlash from tampering with the law would probably be enormous. Wright said the revenue ceiling should be determined by the growth rate of the city so the property tax rate remains constant and so the money is there to provide services for the new growth of the city. Under the current law, the city's ability to provide service goes down as growth occurs. "Everyone is for truth in taxation. taxa-tion. But this law is not the truth, it is ridiculous," he said. By MARK EDDINGTON Staff Writer WOODS CROSS Utah's "Truth in Taxation" law is anything but the truth according to Woods Cross officials, who have watched property tax rates decline steadily since the law was enacted in 1986. Truth in taxation called Utah's answer to California's Proposition 13 placed a ceiling on the property tax revenues each city could collect. It was passed by the state legislature to quash the public outcry over steadily increasing property taxes. As cities continue to grow, so does the need for services and the current law does leave the cities with inadequate tax revenues to fund those services, said Woods Cross Mayor David H. Wright Jr. "What happens as the city grows is you take the total amount the city collects in taxes and divide that amount by the increased number of homes in the city. So the actual amount of taxes paid per family is going down each year," Wright explained. ex-plained. City officials are planning to hold a July public hearing to discuss raising rais-ing the revenue cap. Wright said he plans to invite members of the state legislature to explain the "fiasco" of the current law to members of the public. Wright emphasized the city does not want to raise taxes, but raise the total amount of revenue the city can collect. The property tax rate for each individual homeowner would remain the same. Raising the total will not be easy. The law requires an advertisement be placed in the newspaper stating the city wants to raise property taxes, even though the amount paid by each homeowner wouldn't change. |