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Show New Utah Programs Will Call for Increase in Tax Any new or expanded spending spend-ing programs in Utah will mean an increase in state taxes. This warning was sounded by Utah Foundation, the private governmental research agency In a comprehensive analysis o' state finances and fiscal prob !ems facing the forthcoming sss sion of the Utah Legislature. According to the study, Utah's present tax and revenue struc ture appears to be adequate tc meet basic state spending requirements re-quirements in the 1963-65 bi-ennium bi-ennium with some allowance foi normal growth in regular agen :ies and for predicted enrollmen' ncreases in the public schools. This conclusion was based on the assumption that current eco nomic conditions will continue to the 1963-65 biennium, and hat a state property- tax levy of 7.0 mills will be imposed during the state has spent over $17 million mil-lion more than it has collected in current revenues. The study indicates that the prospect is that expenditures will again exceed ex-ceed revenues in the present biennium. For the most part, the excess 3f expenditures over revenues n recent years has been met by withdrawals from surplus or und balances. It has been the liberate policy of the current administration to use surpluses md fund balances in preference to imposing new taxes. In addi-;ion, addi-;ion, some borowing from the State Treasurer's balances has permitted the financing of spe-;ial spe-;ial capital outlay projects such is the new state office building The use of surpluses and borrowing bor-rowing has cushioned the immediate imme-diate burden on the taxpayer by avoiding, or at least postponing ;he tax increase which otherwise would have been necessary tc calance state requirements on state resources. each of the next two years. The state levy is 7.1 mills this year ind was 7.5 mills in 1961. The report observes that if lew spending programs are made or if the state capital outlay program pro-gram is expanded, an increase Df 0.36 mills in the state prop-arty prop-arty tax levy, or its equivalent n new or added taxes, would be .leeded in each of the next two ears for each $1,000,000 that is added to state expenditures in "he biennium. Similarly, the Foundtaion now points out that if the "present school aid formula is revised upward, up-ward, additional state funds of $24 million (equal to an added property tax of 0.80 mills) will have to be found for each $100 increase that is made in the school formula." Thus, an increase in-crease of $1,000 in the school aid formula would mean a boost from 7.0 mills to 15 mills in the state property tax, or the equivalent in other taxes. A one third increase in the present state school aid formula, as has been advocated by some school spokesmen, if derived from the property tax as provided under the present school finance formula for-mula could result in an increase of 16 Va mills (from 7 mills to 23 mills) in the state property tax, according to Foundation calculations. This increase in the state tax levy would be in addition addi-tion to any local tax increases. State expenditures exceeded state revenue in Utah by $5.5 million during the fiscal year ended June 30, 1962. State expenditures ex-penditures amounted to $211.2 million and revenues were $205 million for the year. The difference differ-ence was met by utilizing some of the remaining fund balances and by additional borrowing from the State Treasurer's bank balances. On June 30, 1962, the outstanding loans from Treasurer's Treas-urer's balances amounted to $7,758,525. In addition, the state had a further obligation of $1,-038,544.00 $1,-038,544.00 for land in Wasatch County purchased on the installment install-ment plan and to be used for a state park site. Foundation analysts report that state expenditures have exceeded ex-ceeded revenues in Utah during three of the past four bienniums. In the past two biennial periods, |
