While some business owners continue to oppose the refined tax system outright, Sen. Curtis Bramble, R-Provo, said that it will eventually help local businesses, especially people who operate small, independent operations — such as book sellers, electronics shops or craft stores — that compete against national, Web-only retailers.

"If we don't have something in Utah that protects the small businesses from Internet retailers, it will hurt the small businesses in the long run," Bramble said. "It will force the Internet retailers to pay the same taxes as the small businesses."

That may be a lofty goal, but some lawmakers worry about the immediate short-term effect of the change as those same small businesses scramble to comply with an effort designed to help them.

"In my district there are a lot of mom-and-pop operations," said Sen. James Evans, R-Rose Park. "What I want to make sure doesn't happen is that the cost of compliance does not force small businesses out of business. We need to make sure the cost is reasonable, so it does not hurt the smallest of the small businesses."

While many businesses are purchasing computer software to ease the transition, Evans said some of the smaller operations don't use computers, so an adequate paper system should he established.

Hillyard did warn that another year of delays means another year for businesses to come up with exemptions to the overhaul or a list of excuses of why compliance is impossible.

"I can predict that we will have a lot of businesses come forward a year from now saying they are not ready."

Another area of concern legislators will address in coming months is the impact on businesses that have invested time and money to prepare for the change, as well as companies that have made bids on projects based on the new tax system. Rep. Stephen Clark, R-Provo, said that those companies should not lose money because they attempted to comply with the law.

"I'm concerned about those who have entered contracts because of the information we provided them," Clark said. "Now they are being punished because we are not following through with it."

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