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Show Voting for removing food tax is voting for increased taxes r I I On Tuesday Utah voters will decide whether food should be exempt from the sales tax. The measure will appear on the ballot because more than 65,000 valid signatures were col- ' lected on an initiative petition. This is one of the most important ballot issues to face Utahns in many years, and if initiative A passes, it will be the worst mistake Utah voters have ever made. We all hate taxes. It's an American pastime. But what tax could be more fair than a tax on food? Everyone eats; therefore, everyone pays the tax. Those who favor eliminating the food tax say low income families pay an unfair share due to the tax on food; however, Utah law currently exempts food purchased with federal food stamps and WIC vouchers from the sales tax. Thus, the poorest element of Utah society already has some protection from the regressivity of the sales tax. If this initiative is successful, it will reduce state and local tax revenues by about $ 1 10 million per year. Proponents of the food tax removal contend that the revenue loss could be absorbed ab-sorbed from available surpluses or through budget reductions. We have all just witnessed the fiasco created in Washington, D.C. with politicians trying to resolve the budget, and finding programs to cut. Everyone is willing to "tighten their belts as long as the belt is already three sizes too large. Be honest. How many of you have actually lived long enough to see a tax cut? If we have surpluses, why aren't we putting them into education? edu-cation? Utah taxpayers have shown up in droves begging the Legislature to give education a bigger slice of the pie. If proponents pro-ponents of the initiative actually believe there are surpluses that will make up a $1 10 million deficit, they should share that information with Gov. Bangerter. Even if surpluses do materialize to cover some of the lost revenue, surpluses are one-time money, and there is no guarantee guar-antee that they will materialize in future years. Loss of that amount of money in state and local funds could seriously hurt essential services including education where we ' already" Spend less per' student than any state in the nation. At - the city and county level, the cuts will surely impact safety and roads. What services are we willing to give up when our cities budgets are cut? Should we eliminate snow removal, or city park maintenance? Something will have to go. Centerville City will lose 19.2 percent of its sales tax base if the initiative passes. That means citizens will have to make up the difference, differ-ence, or the city must eliminate 19.2 percent of its services. Bountiful will lose $368,000 from its sales tax base. Where is the city going to cut? It is likely that many of the cities would I have to raise property tax rates if the tax on food sales is I removed. I Proponents say the average household in Utah will save I about $200 per year in food tax if the initiative passes, but I nothing has been said about where that savings is going to be I made up. Food tax is fair. Unlike most taxes, the sales tax on I food is paid in small amounts all year long. You do not get I "hit with a big bill at the end of the year. This is a 'pay-as- I you-go tax, and for some it is the only tax they ever pay to I help support Utah. I This is the only tax for which you cannot find a loophole. If you eat, you pay. It doesn't matter whom you know, you have I to pay the tax. It doesn't matter what tax shelters legislators I dream up, you must pay this tax. I Although the sales tax in Utah was born in 1933 as an I emergency measure to finance rising relief costs and replace I sagging property tax receipts brought about by the Great I Depression of the 1930s, it has proved its value as a revenue I producer in times of economic growth and prosperity. The I yield from the tax generally reflects increased consumer I spending habits resulting from higher incomes. The tax ap- I pears to be particularly well suited to Utah which has most if I its population in the middle-income brackets. I The tax also provides a means of requiring tourists, visitors, I and nonresidents to pay for some of the essential services that I they utilize and expect from state and local governments. I Utah's greatest need is in the area of economic de- I velopment. We must be able to provide more, better paying I jobs so Utah educated youth stay in Utah. Tax cuts should I come in areas which make Utah a more attractive place to do I business. Removal of sales tax on food does nothing for I economic development. I As an alternative to removing the 6.25 percent tax on food, I perhaps all government programs could take 6.25 percent out I of their inflated budgets. The savings would be astronomical. I We urge all Davis County voters to vote "No' to removal I of sales tax on food. A "no vote to initiative A is in fact, a I "no" vote to higher taxes. ' I |