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Show Serials Ordar Department Uhlveraity of Utah Salt Lake City, Utah 84112 SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH VOLUME 1, NUMBER 6 MONDAY, MAY 13, 1974 Taxes in Utah Range from Moderate to Migh 'Pick Dtt Up LitoaDDy Highway-Use- r Total highway-use-r and property taxes levied on motor vehicles in Utah range from moderate to high when compared with averages for the Mountain States and for the U.S. as a whole. This fact was brought out by Utah Foundation, the private tax research organization in their analysis of a recent study of Road-Usand Property Taxes on Selected Motor Vehicles in 1973 prepared by the Federal Highway Administration. The study shows that total state and local taxes . (motor fuel, registration, property, and other) on motorcycles, passenger cars, intercity busses and certain classes of trucks in Utah are somewhat above national and regional averages. On some of the comlarger trucks and tractor-traile-r tax burden is the binations, however, Utah is average or slightly below average. er In This Issue: Notices Confirmation of Sale New Partnerships 2 2 2 Suits 2 Divorces Marriage Licenses 4 4 Births..... 5 Bountiful Power Bankruptcies Probate Court Murray Power Third District Court City Business Licenses WaterService Atty. General Opinion Tax Liens Building Permits New Corporations Bankruptcy Sale West Jordan Bldg. Permits County Business Licenses Trust Deeds Mortgages Liens Quit Claim Deeds Murray City Court Uniform Commercial Code Filings Warranty Deeds 6 6 6 6 6 7 7 7 .8 8 9' 9 10 . 11 11 11 14 14 14 16 16 Texas Reports Loss HOUSTON, TX., Texas International Airlines, Inc. today announced a loss of $34,000 on operating revenues of $21.1 million for the first quarter of 1974, as compared with a loss of $475,000 on operating revenues of $17.7 million during the same period last year. Traffic during the period increased by 16 percent, as measured by revenue passenger miles, while available seat miles increased three percent. Load factor for scheduled flights was up almost 6 points to 50.5 percent, while passenger boardings grew nine percent to 521,000. Texas International President Francisco A. Lorenzo said the regional carrier was able to approach breakeven during the historically poor first quarter despite sharply increased operating costs at the new DallasFt. Worth Regional Airport, and general inflationary increases in service and material costs. I According to the Foundation comand perparison, the total road-use- r sonal property taxes paid on a typical medium weight passenger car in Utah last year was $118. This compares with a U.S. average tax burden of $110 and a Mountain States average of $109 for this type of vehicle. Foundation analysts point out that an important element in the total tax burden on motor vehicles in Utah is the property tax. While this tax has little direct relationship to highway use and only a small portion of the tax collection is ever made available for highway purposes, the property tax is closely associated with registration fees. In Utah a motor vehicle owner first must obtain a property tax clearance before he is permitted to register and operate a vehicle within the state. The study indicates that only slightly more than half of the states report the imposition and collection of property taxes on motor vehicles. Many of the states without a property tax on motor vehicles, however, impose a much higher registration fee in lieu of the property tax. In Utah the property tax comprises a major portion of the total tax collected on motor If property taxes were ex-- , eluded in making the comparisons with other states, Utah would rank near the bottom of the fifty states in tax burden. the highway-use-r In November, 1974, the Utah electorate will vote on a proposed amendment to the state constitution which would permit the State to impose a uniform tax rate on motor' vehicles, boats, aircraft, etc. in lieu of the multitude of local property tax rates now levied on such property . Last year there were 524 separate taxing areas with the state with tax rates ranging all the way from 45.82 mills ( 145.82 per $1,000 assessed valuation) to 119.16 mills. This has led to considerable confusion and some instances of fraud in the assessment and collection of property taxes on motor vehicles and other types of moveable vehicles. personal property. If the con- stitutional change is approved, the proceeds from the uniform property tax levy or in lieu tax would be allocated back to the taxing districts in which the property is located in the same proportion as real property tax revenue is distributed to such dTstrfc- - ts. No Free Aspirin? The House Ways and Means Committee quietly began hearings last week on a major unfinished piece of New Deal legislation national health insurance. Actually, a national insurance plan was first proposed a half century ago by the American Medical Assodtion, but the proposal became mired in controversy for decades thereafter, and failed to make any headway until the advent of the Medicare program in the the But now, in the from extend insurance the .proposalto of the to all segments aged populatioon has gamed wide support across the political spectrum, so that a bistoiy-makm- g piece of legislation may soon emerge from Congress. Yet, to paraphrase a favor ?d economic cliche there's no such free as thing aspirin. Medical-car-e costs have soared in recent decades, especially after the introduction of Medicare, a piece of legislation which supported a strong upsurge in demand but weakened the role of the market mechanism in allocating medical resources. Meanwhile, despite its sharply rising costs, and despite its highly advanced technology, the health-car- e industry has failed to produce a completely satisfactory product for its consumers. -- mid-1960'- s. mid-1970'- er 3.6 percent to 7.7 percent. The fastest, in the occurred of growth spending post-Worl- War II period, particularly d the recent Medicare era. Medical-car-e expenditures rose at an 8.2 percent annual rate over the 1950 66 period, but then surged at a 12.2 per cent annual rate between 1966 and 1973. Most of the recent increase was in seller-physicia- in publicly financed programs, which nt jumped 19.4 percent annually in the 1966-7- 3 period. s, Poor health, high cost Although, the Americans spend much more per person for medical care than the citizens of any other country, the blunt truth is that they don't enjoy commensurately higher health levels. Fourteen nations have lower rates of infant mortality than the U.S., with its death rate of 19.8 per thousand live births. (In some Boston shuns, one out of nine babies dies.) The U.S. ranking in male life expectancy continually declinns, so that it now stands in 27th place, just between Poland and Romania. (The atmosphere apparently is more conductive to female health, since the U.S. ranks 12th in female life expectancy.) At the same time, the cost of providing health services has gone up steeply, from $3.6 billion in 1929 to $94.1 billion in 1973 (fiscal years), while medical claim on GNP has more than doubled over that period, from WhysocostlyT The growth of population and real income helped account for rising spending in each of those periods, but the most important factor was the rise in prices of health care. In searching for the reason for this price upsurge, we should recognize that a large part of consumer demand is determined by physicians themselves. It is they who suggest hospitalization, who prescribe drugs, so and who order tests and that they are not only the suppliers of medical are but also the patients' advisers on how much to buy . Weakened market mechanism The rapid acceleration of costs of e or so reflected all the past of the above factors, phis the advent of the exMedicare and Medicaid services health tension of among the aged and the poor. These segments of the population constituted an enormous pool of previously unfinanced health care needs, and once their ndded began to be financed, the demand for health care jumped further ahead of available supply. By 1973, public funds spent on these two programs alone reached $13.4 billion. In addition, Medicare and Medicaid accentuated an already evident in the y character of the nation's system, measured by source of expenditure. Between 1929 and 1966, the public share of the health bill rose from 13 to 26 percent, but by 1973, public funds provided 40 percent of a rapidly rising total Another 26 percent of the total represented insurance payments rather than direct consumer payments. These changes worked to reduce further the market character of the system. To emphasize X-ray- s, half-decad- health-deliver- health-deliver- y uaught taking aim on Zioni First National Bank's beantiflcation and cleanup drive, "Pick It Up laterally," Mrs. Breads Kidd. sets ready to pot a wad of paper in a waste basket held by Kim Weber. "This is more than just a spring Zions First National Bank is asking it's a challenge Utah residents to help keep this state cleaning campaign to Utah's residents to pick up used beautiful through an anti-littcampackaging materials instead of paign called "Pick It Up Laterally." Zionar Bank is helping to boost the throwing them on the ground," said Zions Bank president Roy W. Simcampaign throughout the state witr mons. radio, television and newspaper remin "I know it's easy to get rid of ders. papers, wrappers, cups and picnic trash with a flip of the wrist, but that's again, the medical system has always not in our own best interest. been characterized by the fact that, "We are all part of the Utah family n within certain limits, the we need to work together to make and the tells the buyer-patiethis a better place to live," said Mr. amount and prices of the services he ' Simmons. has to buy. But even these restraints The "Pick It Up UtteraDy" camare now being eliminated by the third-part- y which was kicked off May 6th in paign, payment of medical bills. Inwill the sumcontinue Utah, creasingly, one party obtains the ser- mer, Mr. Simmons through explained. vices, another party provides them, "We hope the spirit of the campaign and yet another pays for them. Under will continue throughout the years," these circumstances, very little is left he said. of the market mechanism, to limit the He added that similar drives are number and price of physician and conducted by Zions Banks being hospital charges, the state in local throughout rate of inflation newspapers and over local radio Congressional task stations. exnow on an is Mr. Simmons suggested residents working Congress how to could difficult problem: carry litter bags or even paper or ceedingly all health care to bring adequate plastic bags in their cars, boats and segments of the population, but at a campers to collect trash. bearable cost to the Federal budget "Utah is one of the most beautiful and to the national economy. Some 15 states in the nation. I think we can bills have been introduced in an at- keep it that way if well just work, tempt to reconcile these conflicting ob- together," he said. jectives, but most interest is centered in the Administration proposal and . . the bilL Mills-Kenne- The two bills are rather similar in concept, with the plan involving about $8.5 billion a year of new Federal funds, as opposed to the Administration's $6.4 billion pricetag. But there are also several important differences. The legislative plan would make participation compulsory under y the system, while the Administration plan would make membership voluntary. The bill envisions a straight 4 percent payroll tax to finance the program, with the employer paying 3 percent and the employee 1 percent; the Administration bill would have the employer pay (at least initially) 65 percent of the $415 annual insurance Mills-Kenne- dy social-securit- Mills-Kenne- y bill would The require the individual to pay $150 a costs ($300 year in medical-carmaximum per family) before he could receive any benefits. The Administration bill has the same $150 Mills-Kenned- e deductible feature, but calls for a $450 family maximum. Whatever happens, the American consumer is almost certain to be paying considerably more for good health in future years. (John Dunlop, as head of the Cost of Living Council, recently supported his plea for continued controls in this area by predicting that hospital costs otherwise would soar 16 to 18 percent a year.) Of course, much of the inflation in demand has already occurred, with the development of the Medicare and Medicaid programs, not to mention the continued spread of e which 80 now reah plans, percent of the population in one form private-insuranc- or another. But these demand pressures will increase further, in an atmospher of weakened cost controls, as the nation accepts the concept that an affluent society should provide all of its members with a minimum standard of health care. . |