Curtis, when told of the Senate move, said that the slight reduction was the first time he had seen any plan for the Senate's position of $100 million for tax cuts, which the Senate Republicans took about a week into the session. The House has called for $230 million in tax cuts since before the session began, and both sides have staunchly stuck by their respective tax cut numbers throughout negotiations.

The package being worked out by the House and the governor includes setting aside $300 million from the ongoing budget debate to pay for the tax cuts as well as new roads in the state.

Their alliance indicates the House is willing to trim their proposed tax cut by some $40 million and agreed not to pursue taking the sales tax off food at the local level. There had been considerable concern about the effect a complete removal of the tax would have on local governments, especially those small communities that depend on grocery stores for much of their sales tax revenue.

The Senate, though, continues to reject the proposal. At one point, the Senate GOP had agreed to setting $300 million as the total of both tax cuts and road spending, but they were backing away from that Friday.

The governor's office and House leaders were unusually direct in their comments about the Senate's position.

"Our concern is some have already been willing to set aside tens of millions of dollars for corporate sales tax relief when we feel the priority should clearly be providing sales tax relief for individuals," Huntsman's deputy chief of staff and spokesman, Mike Mower, said.

Mower was referring to SB33, a bill that would give manufacturers a $12.1 million tax break next year and twice that much the following year by taking the sales tax off their natural gas and other fuel purchases.

That bill, sponsored by Sen. Howard Stephenson, R-Draper, head of the pro-business Utah Taxpayers Association, has already been approved by the Senate but has yet to be assigned to a House committee for a hearing. Stephenson said he was surprised at the comments from the governor's office since Huntsman is a champion of economic development.

House Majority Whip Steve Urquhart, R-St. George, also criticized SB33, as well as another tax cut for mining companies. Neither of them make much sense "when you read the business pages," considering that companies within those industries are reporting record profits.

Even more than the business tax cuts, Urquhart was very disappointed that the Senate had done very little in the way of proposing a significant tax cut for individuals or tried to work out a comprehensive package within their caucus or with House leaders.