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Show Statehouse Report . . . Major Financial Lift Slated In Utah With End of Mom moth Copper Strike BY C. SHARP Anonrent settlement of the eiclit month old copper strike is coming none too soon to bes;in to restore Utah's economy, econ-omy, as well as the nation's sfii?eing trade balance. , Gov. Calvin L. Rampton I estimated the state's loss in wages, taxes, sales, and increased in-creased welfare at $100 million mil-lion due to the strike. The big part of this, $91 million, is in lost wages and purchases of supplies and materials for Kennecott. Losses in taxes state, local lo-cal and school, he estimated at $7 to $10 million. State Tax Loss Direct losses to the state in taxes and in higher welfare wel-fare pavments were estimat-i estimat-i ed at $4.7 million. This has upset the state'? finances and necessitated imposing im-posing a four per cent cutback cut-back in general fund apDro-priations apDro-priations effective last July. 1 This cutback is now expected to extend into most of the fiscal year to begin next July 1. The State Welfare Division frsaid $365,000 in welfare payments pay-ments has gone to 574 individual indiv-idual strikers. Because marginal workers were displaced by strikers and thrown onto welfare, the total welfare loss is expected to exceed $700,000. State Tax Commission losses loss-es are estimated at more than $4 millon. 1969 Carryover Corporation franchise (income) (in-come) tax paid by Kennecott is down $1.25 million this, year compared with last. Its tax for the next year also will be less because of suspended sus-pended operations the first three and a half months of this year. Mine occupation tax paid by Kennecott on its production produc-tion last year is down $910 thousand below what it would have been if the 1967 production produc-tion had continued the second sec-ond half of the year. Sales and use tax are down at least $600,000 and income tax collections are down an estimated $2 million. Kennecott's strike also will cut considerably into the general property tax to be collected by Salt Lake coun ty. On the net proceeds formula for-mula based upon twice the average net proceeds for the three previous years, the company's mine for 1967 was valued at $98.7 million. $10 Million Drop For 1968 its valuation for tax purposes will be about $88.15 million. Instead of being on the defensive de-fensive in the battle for Colorado Co-lorado River water, Utah is now on the offensive. A provision was inserted into the administration's Central Cen-tral Arizona Bill to give this state the $620 million Ute Indian In-dian Proiect and the $58 million mil-lion Dixie Project. Rep. Laurence J. Burton, R-Utah, member of the Interior In-terior and Insular Affairs Committee of the House, was successful in getting the provision inserted. A vear ago Utah was working work-ing hard for importation of water or at least a study to pave the wav for bringing water into the drought-ridden Colorado River Basin. Upper End Riant Now provided this item is not deleted from the bill- Utah can take the water out of the unper reaches of the river and leave the lower basin ba-sin states to fi'eure out how to supply the deficit. A year ago Utah was fighting fight-ing hard for at least one dam to provide power revenues to help repay the project. Now the administration has sold out to two powerful interests. The Pacific Northwest which lets 10 times -as much water run into the Pacific Ocean annually than is in the entire Colorado River system sys-tem won its fight against even so much as a study of water imports into the Colorado Colo-rado River. Conservationists opposed to any flooding of the Colorado River recreation area won their , fight. The water would be pumped from the Colorado Colo-rado River into central Arizona Ari-zona by power from a steam-electric steam-electric plant. Hits Kaiparowits This steam-electric plant, incidentally, will compete with the projected Kaiparowits Kaiparo-wits steam electric plant in western Kane county. In the thick of this fight has been Jay R. Bingham, executive director. State Natural Na-tural Resources Department, and Utah's member of the Upper Colorado River Commission. Com-mission. Mr. Bingham announced his resignation March 9 to take over a new position as executive director of the Western Wes-tern States Water Council with headquarters in Salt Lake City. This organization is composed com-posed of 11 states, whose water wa-ter battles and cooperation cooperat-ion Mr. Bingham may be able to help in part. Quarterback He is still quarterbacking Utah's fight for Colorado River Ri-ver water. The Coordinating Council for Natural Resources will consider applications for a successor to Mr. Bingham at its next meeting March 29. Thorpe Waddingham, Delta Del-ta lawyer, and chairman of the council, may be considered consid-ered for membership on the Upper Colorado River Commission. Com-mission. For department ex ecutive director, that still remains re-mains a big question. |