From Deseret News archives:
Surplus poses problem
Spending caps limit how legislators can use it
But legislators could find themselves hamstrung in their freedom to spend the cash any way they wish because of various spending limitation caps now being hit as the state becomes flush with hundreds of millions of dollars.
"This all creates the perfect storm for more tax reform, more tax cuts," says Rep. Greg Hughes, R-Draper. "We can't sustain the kind of government growth" that spending all the new cash will bring, he adds.
Two new reports show just how robust tax revenue growth is for Utah and surrounding Western states.
The state's Finance Department has announced that Utah's two so-called "Rainy Day" surplus funds have completely rebounded from the revenue-short days of the early 2000s.
The two funds have topped out, and any additional tax surpluses can only flow into them as next year's budget is increased by lawmakers. Without legislators voting to lift the caps, none of the current tax surpluses can go into the Rainy Day funds.
And the National Conference of State Legislatures has compiled a nationwide accounting of tax revenue surpluses state-by-state, which shows healthy revenue growth in the American West.
Utah is one of only three states that don't provide the public with estimates of tax surpluses, as reflected in the NCSL survey.
But the NCSL report shows that surrounding states Nevada, Wyoming, Idaho, New Mexico are running revenue increases of between $132 million and $150 million.
Montana is seeing a whopping $552 million in additional revenue, Oregon an additional $490 million, the NCSL report shows.
The Deseret Morning News has reported that former Utah State Tax Commission chief economist Doug Macdonald, recently retired from the commission, estimates that Utah is running a $150 million tax surplus through the first four months of the state's fiscal year. If tax revenues continue to come in at such a high rate, the state will have a $450 million surplus at the end of the fiscal year, July 2007.
"There is a 6 percent cap" on the Rainy Day funds, says John Massey, director of the Legislature's budget office. That means that the Rainy Day funds attached to the state's General Fund and the Uniform School Fund can only grow to 6 percent of those funds limits that have been reached.
Comments
- Soccer MVPs know how to win 1:56 a.m.
- Alta's Ohai is Ms. Soccer 2009 1:56 a.m.
- High school soccer: Past MVPs 1:37 a.m.
- Senators want food tax restored 1:27 a.m.
- Utah women lag in higher education 1:16 a.m.
- Hatch empathizes with Muslims 1:14 a.m.
- Matheson gets no thanks from GOP 1:13 a.m.
- Mitchell seeks to block witnesses 1:12 a.m.
- Party insiders may take on Bennett 1:11 a.m.
- Input sought on nondiscrimination 1:11 a.m.
- TCU showdown has big implications
- Seniors helped BYU regroup
- Lambert surprisingly tops news
- Hope for single moms
- Bystanders framed for child porn
- Korver and Miles to be evaluated
- Soccer MVPs know how to win
- Utah Jazz Extra: Whose hot/not
- Matheson gets no thanks from GOP
- Newhouse Hotel, an explosive end
- House passes health care bill
228 - TCU showdown has big implications
183 - Lobo suspended
182 - Cougars crush hapless Cowboys
154 - Utah Jazz fall apart against Kings
131 - TCU 4th in AP poll; U. 16th, Y. 22nd
118 - Thousands protest health bill
114 - RSL rallies to advance
103 - No 'backlash' for pioneers, gays analogy
97 - Utes pound winless Lobos
89
Meghan McCain, the daughter of former presidential candidate John...
Why do so many people live so close to refineries in Utah and elsewhere?
Sounds like a good option if you can't or won't switch to AT&T for the...
I worked with and around Bill Sederburg for 5 years while he was at...
hand. He needs to work on his moves to the basket and rebounding. Lateral...
play Fez or Koufos tonight. He went with a smaller line up and Boozer, Okur...
I've met Bennett before and he is a nice man. He also knows the Constitution...
That's never been a secret. Everyone will pay for it except those that don't...
I agree with NonMormon. I am active LDS, and I enjoy Ash's articles, and I...
I kept saying don't resign Milsap, especially after Portland offered that...
BYU is the slowest team that has ever been in the top 25. Utah will put up a...
i think u have the cowboys ranked too low! at least an A- LOL nice work!



You can be the first to comment on this story.