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Show By Harry Marlowe j According to the Utah Foundation, Founda-tion, a group of tax experts who sometimes have been wrong, Utah will spend some $200 million for state government in the next two years while taking in only $198 million. Just how the boys who control the purse strings will recact to this idea of a $2 million plus deficit de-ficit during the next couple of years is not explained by the I Foundation. But this report is interesting. Especially in view of the legislative legisla-tive appropriations made by the 1955 Legislature totaling only $48 mililon plus. If you can logically explain the difference between the appropriations appropria-tions and the figure actually spent, then you are well-versed in the intracacies of state finances in Utah. It is a subject not understood under-stood by many and only fully understood un-derstood by a few of the citizens. What makes the whole thing so difficult to figure, especially for the guy footing the bill, is that only a fraction of the state's funds come under jurisdiction of the Legislature. A man who has an idea of what he is looking for and has a great deal of patience can go up to the State Tax Commission, the State Finance Commission, and a couple of other state agencies and can come up with a pretty good idea of how much money is going and where it comes from. But he would have to do a lot of looking. It isn't that the state officials are trying to hide anything. any-thing. They aren't. It is just that the funds are so earmarked as to make it difficult, it is not virtually impossible, to get the state's financial fin-ancial picture into focus in one report. re-port. The money appropriated by the Legislature comes from sales tax and a variety of general fund sources. The Legislature has no particular particu-lar say over a chunk of money some $44 million almost as big as the amount they appropriated. This is used for schools, comes from various taxes such as income, in-come, property, corporate franchise, fran-chise, etc., and is earmarked. So are funds used for highways, fish and game department, liquor tax profits for school lunches and various other funds, including federal fed-eral grants in aid. It is doubtful that all r funds will ever by piacerl f the general fund so that the 0ne taxpayer can get a clear the figures. ear lok at The ones who are petti benefit of the earmarked S tte don't want to take any m, "ds on getting their funds cause the Legislature feek money is needed mart 1 h another department. dly As an example, witnes , tough .t was to get sales tL 7! use tax revenues placed Z general fund during this be , 1,6 fatUHr ST though fit funds had been tapped everv , in recent history in an effort? balance the budgeting. ' b And, until the time that , Utah Legislature can get s memJ k these earmarked funds into general fund-which is not li for a long time Utah citizens , still going to come in for a shS every time some outfit like 7 Utah Foundation takes the ti to dig through the financial r2 and find out just how much costs to operate Utah Govpn, ments. |