OCR Text |
Show REVENUE TAXES . INCREASE TEN FOLD IN STATE "Utah State revenues from tax-"INSIDE tax-"INSIDE FILLER HFPW?xjj es, licenses and fees have increased increas-ed nearly 10 fold from 1916 to 1945, rising from $3.3 million in 1916 to $30 million in: 1945," says a research report issued today by Utah , Foundation, the non-profit organization established to study Utah taxation. "Revenues from these sources totaled $10 million in 1936, $8 million in 1933, $15 million in 1936, $21.9 million in 1940, and rose to a peak of $32.4 million in 1944." Largest revenue increases have been accounted for by sales and use of taxs, individual income tax, corporation franchise tax, mine occupation oc-cupation tax, and liquor commission commis-sion profits received in lieu of taxes. The gasoline tax, although a major source of revenue, has shown slight increase since 1936, due mainly to travel restrictions during the war years. . Property tax receipts of the State treasury, also a significant revenue source, declined more than 50 percent from 1936 to 1945, dropping from $4.7 million in 1936 to $2 million in 1945. Unemployment compensation accounted ac-counted for an added tax of more than $6 million in 1944, dropping to $4.9 million in 1945, but funds derived from this tax are held in trust and are not available for general state expenditures. In commenting on the situation the Utah Foundation said: 'It should be noted that the sources of major revenue increases have been closely related to the war boom in industrial and general business activity. The accumulated accumulat-ed consumer demands for durable goods are likely to sustain the high levels of business activity for a period; in fact, state revenues reve-nues may show further gains until un-til the pent-up demand has been satisfied. Realistic planning for maintaining a balance in state finances fi-nances must face the prospect of an ultimate decline in important sources of state revenue. "The general economic conditions condi-tions in Utah will, of course, determine de-termine the permanent trends of state revenues. Higher revenue levels, to the degree that they stem from inflationary price factors fac-tors in the general economy, are offset by higher operating costs for existing state governmental functions. Apathy toward the prospect of eventual decline in the tax revenues can easily lead to an untenable state fiscal position. Sound administrative policy requires re-quires that expenditure commitments commit-ments be planned in the light of this prospect." t . |