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Show Taxpayer Group Urges Legislators To Pare Spending Requests The Utah Taxpayers Association As-sociation this week presented pres-ented its "State Spending and Tax Score Board" comparing what has happened hap-pened in Utah in the ten years since 1960. 'Citizens can expect this load to increase even further fur-ther If spending requests are not pared to the bone by the legislature," they said and called on the tax. payers from , all over tha state on contact their lawmakers law-makers to prdtest further increases ih taxes. "In " the short period from 1960 to 1970, the combined com-bined take from 6tate tax collections, , and from property pro-perty taxes has jumped from $199 to $447 million, or 125 per cent," they claim. "In ten years, property taxes have climbed 77 per cent, fuel and gasoline tax collections have gone up 19 per cent, individual and corporate income taxes tax-es have shot up 218 per cent, and eaJes tax collections, collec-tions, 217 per cent. "Total Utah state spending spend-ing in the period between 1960 and 1970 has gone up from $174 to nearly $461 million, or 165 per cent." The watchdog organization organiza-tion claims that part of this has been funded by state taxes and part by fed. eral funds.' However, it all comes out of the same pocket. poc-ket. State population since 1960 has- gone up but 19 per cent, from 890,627, to 1,060,631. UTA said that a bigger slice of our income is also al-so being taken for taxes. Since I960, Utah's per cap. ita income has increased but 52 per cent, or from $1,968 to $2,997. To aid the legislature in making cuts, the association associa-tion set up a list of questions ques-tions that should be asked of all requests for public money. Is it necessary? Can we afford it? What will it cost ultimately? Is the request re-quest of wide public demand, de-mand, or just of special in-fterest in-fterest groups? How will it effect basic liberties? Does it place too much power in the hands of one individual or group? "The responsibility of the citizen does not end with the election," said the Bulliten. "It merely begins there. If the legislators legislat-ors are to really represent rep-resent us, they must know our desires. They cannot know unless we tell them. Our responsibility our duty is to contact our elected lawmakers and present pre-sent our problems to them. Our biggest problem is high taxes. |