Utah GOPers call for axing grocery sales tax if voters end income tax earmark for ed
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- From left, Utah Rep. Mike Schultz, R-Hooper; Rep. Rosemary Lesser, D-Ogden; and Sen. Ann Millner, R-Ogden.
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- Utah Sen. Ann Millner, R-Ogden
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- Utah Rep. Rosemary Lesser, D-Ogden
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- Utah Rep. Mike Schultz, R-Hooper.
SALT LAKE CITY — Debate on the future of Utah’s sales tax on groceries is lurching forward, with House Republicans proposing elimination of the 1.75% tax if voters agree to do away with the provision in the Utah Constitution earmarking income tax funds for education.
In a statement issued by the Utah Legislature on Friday, two Weber County lawmakers sounded support for the plans, Sen. Ann Millner of Ogden and Rep. Mike Schultz of Hooper, both GOPers. Elimination of the grocery tax, per the plan, would be contingent on approval by voters of a constitutional amendment eliminating restrictions on how income tax funds in Utah may be used.
“Utah is the only state in the nation that has these types of budget constraints,” Schultz said in a statement, alluding to the provision requiring use of income tax revenue on education. “We can’t remove the sales tax on food and continue to efficiently balance the state budget. I’m excited to give citizens the opportunity to make the final decision at the ballot box next November.”
However, Rep. Rosemary Lesser, an Ogden Democrat, doesn’t like the idea of tying elimination of the grocery tax to the passage of a constitutional amendment on the income tax question, as Republicans propose. She’s made elimination of the grocery sales tax a priority and has put forward her own proposal on the matter this session, House Bill 172.
“I think that if voters do consider amending (the Constitution) it should be decided on its own merits,” she told the Standard-Examiner on Friday. Likewise, elimination of the grocery tax — which she views as regressive, adversely impacting lower-income Utahns — should be considered independently.
Separately, GOP Utah lawmakers have also proposed a cut in the state income tax rate from 4.85% to 4.65%, outlined in H.B. 54.
The statement from the GOP-controlled Legislature on the food tax issue says Utahns think elimination of the sales tax on groceries is “a priority.” But referencing the constitutional requirement that income tax funds be used for education, it also says the state’s current budget structure “creates funding constraints.” Income tax revenue is also to be used for programming to help those with disabilities.
Millner argues that axing the sales tax on food, resulting in a cut worth around $200 million, would necessitate a broader look at the state’s budgeting scheme to make sure the state can still fund its varied priorities. That’s where the parallel call for a vote of the public on eliminating limits on use of income tax money comes in.
“Under the current budget structure, sales tax on food helps to fund all state needs, including Medicaid, homeless programs, public safety, courts, parks, etc. To continue funding these needed programs without the sales tax on food, we will need to restructure the budget,” she said.
Some education advocates worry eliminating the income tax provision in the Constitution would threaten funding for schools. Millner, though, countered that. “Education has and will continue to be a priority in our state. Over the last few years, we have made historic investments in education, showing our commitment to Utah students and the education community,” she said.
Generally, Lesser said she’s not a fan of clustering multiple proposals inside individual bills. She opposed House Bill 215 earlier in the session, which boosted teacher pay and created an education voucher program, for that reason. Each of those changes should have been considered individually, in her view.
The GOP measure calling for elimination of the food tax is H.B. 101, sponsored by Rep. Judy Rohner Weeks, a West Valley City Republican, and Sen. John Johnson, a North Ogden Republican. Language in the proposal states it would take effect on Jan. 1, 2025, contingent on passage of a constitutional amendment on the income tax issue by voters.
H.B. 101 is to be reviewed by the House Revenue and Taxation Committee next Tuesday.
The proposal to put a question to voters axing restrictions on how income tax funds may be used is outlined in Senate Joint Resolution 10, put forward by Sen. Daniel McCay, a Salt Lake City Republican. Lesser said reaction is being sought from education advocates on the notion of eliminating restrictions on how income tax money can be used.