OCR Text |
Show No Tax Increase Necessary for Utah, Says Report Utah Foundation analysts indicate in-dicate that the State of Utah is likely to have approximately $25 million in added funds a-vailable a-vailable in the next fiscal year for additional spending without changes in the present Utah Tax structure. This amount would have to cover higher education, ed-ucation, public schools, welfare and all other general government govern-ment increases. If increeased spending authorization auth-orization for all purposes financed fin-anced by the general fund and the uniform school fund were to exceed the $25 million figure, corresponding adjustments will be required in Utah tax rates, the Foundation indicates. If the Legislature is to confine con-fine increased spending authorizations author-izations within the $25 million range it would be neecessary to (J.) limit general fund and uniform uni-form school fund increases to a level no greater than the average av-erage of the past five years, (2) undertake no new spending programs, and (3) limit state and local school building appropriations appro-priations to minimum levels. The estimate of $25 million additional ad-ditional funds to be available from the present tax structure is based upon a "middle assumption" as-sumption" of economic growth and does not allow for anv ma- jor labor dispute or other disruptive dis-ruptive factor in the state's economy during the period. The $25 million figure, it is pointed out, includes a projected growth of $18 million plus in revenue from present tax sour- p ces and $6 million resulting .;. from adjustments in major Mi fund balances. f?j Foundation analysts recog-jM nize, however, that there willjH be strong pressures exerted in I the 1971 Utah Leegislature to! increase appropriations forfj higher education, public schools and public welfare, public buildings buil-dings and a host of other governmental gov-ernmental activities. Any new or expanded state spending programs beyond the trends of the past few years would require re-quire an upward adjustment in state taxes or other sources of income. |