Currently, local option sales taxes create dozens of geographic taxing entities in the state, said Rep. Wayne Harper, co-chairman of both the task force and the revenue and taxation committee. Harper's single 6.4 percent rate statewide would mean a tax cut in counties and cities where, because of a quarter-cent transit district tax or a zoo-and-arts tax or some other special tax, the current rate is higher than 6.4 percent.

But a single rate would mean a tax-rate increase in some other areas.

Sen. Lyle Hillyard, R-Logan, said most of Cache County now has a sales-tax rate of 6.35 percent.

"I can live with the small increase" to 6.4 percent, said Hillyard. "But I've told (Harper) you lose my vote if you come in with a single rate of 6.7 percent" as was considered at one time.

"I won't vote for such a large tax hike," said Hillyard.

Harper's one-rate bill would mean a tax-rate cut for Salt Lake, Davis and Weber counties — Wasatch Front areas that together by far generate most of the sales tax in the state.

The bill would do away with so-called boutique taxes, like those going to the Utah Transit Authority, ZAP and resort communities. In the shift between the state and local option taxes, counties would get a higher rate. And each county would then give a grant to its local transit district, zoos or art organizations — the result being those groups wouldn't lose any money, said Harper, R-West Jordan.

However, when the current voter-approved special sales taxes expire, there would be no automatic renewals. Harper said each entity would either lose its dedicated source of sales tax or have to get its home county government to raise property taxes or somehow otherwise make the special groups "whole," as officials call it.

Committee member Rep. Merlynn Newbold, R-South Jordan, said she will be carrying a bill that would remove the sales tax from prepared food. The much-discussed issue may be the hottest tax reform item before lawmakers, costing the state between $150 million and $166 million in lost revenue.

Newbold said Wednesday that her bill, not yet drafted, would simply remove all of the state and local sales tax on food. The state would just see a revenue loss. But to keep cities and counties whole, she would allow local governments to increase their current sales-tax rates slightly.

Newbold wouldn't allow the boutique taxing entities, like the UTA, to raise their sales-tax rate to make up for lost food-tax revenue. Rather, she would give counties enough leeway to raise their sales taxes to, in turn, give money to the special taxing districts.

The effort to remove the food tax suffered a blow, however, when the Salt Lake Area Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday came out against that specific tax cut, preferring instead to urge that more money be spent on roads, transit development and economic development.