OCR Text |
Show A THREE PER CENT SALES TAX? The proposal to increase the state sales tax from two to three per cent will receive but scant consideration from Utah's twenty-first legislature. There's a reason: the average ave-rage legislator can readily visualize the kickback from his constituency were this increase placed into effect. Some of these same legislators, however, are proposing to increase what was virtually a three per cent sales tax on the mining industry of this state the bulwark of Utah's prosperity. During the decade from 1920-29 state and local taxes on Utah mines amounted to three cents for each dollar of gross value of ores produced and one proposal being given legislative consideration would increase this tax to 12 per cent of gross sales ! I low many of these same legislators could face their constituents at the close of the session if they imposed such a confiscatory tax on their neighbors as they now propose to levy upon the mines? The recommendation of the committee of nine in this regard re-gard was that the taxation of metal mines should be changed from the present base of three times the annual net proceeds to three times the average of the annual net proceeds for the preceding' three years. It seems that this is about all the burden that should be imposed at this time upon this industry except its fair share of Utah's participation in the national program for social security, se-curity, which is just recovering from the most critical period in its history. |