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Show Sen. Garn endorses tax limitation "Rising taxes and inflation infla-tion can only be controlled by putting 'a limit on all governments' power to tax and spend," U.S. Senator Jake Garn (R-Ut) said today. Utah's senior senator voiced support for constitutional consti-tutional spending 'lids' which will help cure 'the rising tax burden, uncontrollable uncon-trollable inflation, and the middle-income taxpayer squeeze.' "The success of California's Califor-nia's Proposition 13, the evidence of opinion polls, and the defeat of several 'big spenders' in this year's elections show that people want tax cuts," Garn said. So called 'tax reforms' are not directed toward controlling the size and cost of government, Garn said. "They are attempts to transfer income or redistribute monies from some people to others, and the middle class has been hardest hit." He noted that Utahn's tax burdens have increased in-creased dramatically while their real spending power has been eroded by rising inflation. "While inflation has raised prices 81.5 percent between 1967 and 1977, federal income taxes have increased 193 percent, and Utah state income taxes have skyrocketed sky-rocketed 256 percent." "The problem can best be solved both at the state and national levels through constitutional amendment," added Garn, who is co-sponsor of measures which would require the federal government gov-ernment to balance its budget and limit its expenditures. "The idea of constitutional tax limitation lim-itation is practical, possible possi-ble and essential." Increased tax revenues should result from economic econ-omic growth, not from steadily escalating tax rates or spiraling inflation, infla-tion, Garn said. "Most Utahn's support this approach," Garn noted. "An August, 1978 Utah Poll revealed that 70 percent of the state's residents desire a law limiting state and local tax increases to the same percentage as the increase in average personal income." in-come." "By linking taxation to a measure of economic growth, such as personal income, we can assure that the growth of government govern-ment expenditures does not outpace real income growth." Garn cited a basic 'lack of faith' in statutory limitation of spending and taxation. "The statutory debt ceiling of the U.S. Congress is the best example of our inability to control taxes and spending spend-ing at the federal level. Every year the statute is changed to raise the ceiling, and the deficits just roll on." He commended the efforts of Republican Party Par-ty State Chairman, Robert Wright, and the bipartisan biparti-san Utah Tax Limitation Committee 'in calling for constitutional tax limitation." |