Single sales-tax rate could hurt S.L. arts

"It becomes a general fund issue," league lobbyist Roger Tew said. "If you want to keep (the money) for them you'll have to decide that."

Still, city leaders worry that not all the county's suburban cities would be willing to create such a fund, especially since most of the county's major arts programs and the zoo are in Salt Lake City.

"It seems like it would be very problematic for the Utah Symphony or the zoo to have to go to 15 different cities and get the same funding they are getting through the ZAP tax," Buhler said.

Carter Livingston, who ran the campaign to get ZAP extended last year, said the tax system has been fairly administered and wildly popular. Livingston will be at the Legislature this year representing some 23 "tier 1" arts groups who want to make sure the single-rate plan doesn't end ZAP.

"Anything that potentially messes with (ZAP) is not the best idea," added Chris Lino, business manager for the Pioneer Theatre Company, which gains $500,000 of its $4 million budget from ZAP taxes. All told the ZAP tax funnels $15 million to $16 million into parks, the zoo and arts programs.

Mayor Rocky Anderson's office is also concerned about losing the ability for voters to add countywide sales-tax increases for popular projects.

Deputy Mayor Rocky Fluhart said the city is still looking at an option to have a single sales-tax rate for each of Utah's 29 counties. While that system wouldn't be as simple as a one statewide rate, it would be simpler than the current system of 96 different tax rates in Utah.

Twenty-nine rates would also give individual counties the ability to continue to employ ZAP and RAP taxes.

Tew said the 29-rate plan was considered once but is no longer on the table.

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