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Show eau supports them.) ballot will probably be the most important test supports all five amendments. Below are some of the reasons for our support. Utah State Constitution. r$ This tax agricultural . (Greenbelt.) Utah has been taxed adopted by the taxation eted the state constitution, that all tangible property arket value. To be specific, in the constitutional require- - hasn't been valued at The practice has been to bs, beginning a program to 0 across the state, which unless the amendment is Commission determines in money by the price a voluntary sale. This is a illing buyer and a willing x counties land that might in acre as irrigated farm ch as $5,000.00 an acre it, which under present could result in in-uti- on valu-KJ.0- 0 an acreonsurround-n- t effort to bring farmland et value, this could result .00 per acre. blem only in the counties jlations. If the amendment iproblemin every county proved, it would allow the hich would allow land used according to its value as it it might bring for other law would be written will afeguards against building ators is essential to gain is amendment be adopted. Amendment to provide for legislative budget system. The Utah State Legislature meets every two years. That's the only time it can take care of needed bus- iness unless a special session is called. Two years is a long time to wait for a matter of real urgency. Some people feel that if this is allowed to continue, it will mean more power for the state officers who are behind their desks eight hours a day for the two years between sessions. If approved, the amendment would provide for a general session every two years to consider any kind of business in both the House and the Senate as we do now. But we would add a session in the middle to consider only budgetary items. This means that the Legislature would meet every year. In the years they would act on money matters and in the years would act on all other business. It's expected that this will result in a Legislature that will be closer to issues concerning the state and a legislative body that can act quickly to solve probeven-number- ed odd-number- ed lems. We recommend that this amendmentbe adopted. Amendment to repeal inventory tax. Utah's merchants, retailers, wholesalers, farmers and ranchers legally should pay a tax on all inventory carried over from one year to the next. In other words, they pay tax on what resale items they still have on hand January first. The law is difficult to enforce and leaves gaping loopholes for those who would rather notpay the tax. It is generally believed that more than a few merchants do not report their entire inventory and fudge a little on the tax. Others pay the tax but evade the intent of the law by drastically reducing their inventory during December, paying the tax in January and then reordering the sizeable inventory they carry during the rest of the year. Asa revenue producing piece of legislation, it has failed to meet expectations The inventory tax has also discouraged new dustrial development. Businesses looking in- fordistribu-tio- n points forthemountainwestoftenchooseNevada because of their favorable tax climate. Nevada has no inventory tax and no state income tax to be paid by company employees. One concerned individual reported that the J. C. Penney Co. was investigating the possibility of locating an intermountain warehouse in Utah but was holding back because of the inventory tax. passed recently provides that goods manufactured in Utah and held for one year would not be taxed, but this doesn't apply to goods held for longer periods. For this reason, some observers called the inventory tax amendment, "Freeport The Part Freeport Law Two". Farmers and ranchers are directly concerned with the proposal because the amendment would also allow the exempting of any livestockor other farm crops held for sale by farmers. At present, only livestock is taxed, but there is nothing in the Constitution which says that other farm crops held for sale are exempted. The exemption of these crops has been by practice rather than by statute. Under presentprocedures, the livestock raiser or sheepman is the only producer of a farm product who is taxed on the crop he raises. Nothing in the law would prevent this taxfrom being extended to all farm crops in the future. We recommend that this amendmentbe adopted. |