"We specifically want to assist lower- and middle-income working families and individuals," Huntsman's spokesman, Mike Mower, said.

But, despite the flat-tax proposal's apparent positive attributes, a well-respected national tax journal has opined that Huntsman's plan is a mess and it is not really tax reform, says State Tax Today.

It may "politely be called negative tax reform," writes Frank Shafroth in the Oct. 10 edition of the tax journal that is reportedly read by CEOs and finance directors of America's top firms. One Utah tax expert is quoted anonymously in the journal as saying of Huntsman's plan: "It is the most half---ed idea I've ever heard of in my life."

An article for the journal by David Brunori in the Oct. 23 edition says "this isn't tax reform — it's a tax giveaway."

Huntsman's proposed per-person tax credit for low- to middle-income Utahns switching to the flat tax may soothe some concerns. With the refundable tax credit, Utahns who pay no personal income tax now could get a check from the state for as much as $400.

But one Democratic legislator is worried that instead of evening out the highs and lows of personal income tax collections as Utah's economy swings hot to cold and vice versa, it may actually make those swings worse. "It may well be a more volatile system than we have now," said the Democrat, who asked that his name not be used at this time.

A taxpayer liability chart put together by Spendlove shows that a single person making $100,000 a year could actually save $646 a year by switching from the current system to the new flat-rate system.

A married couple making $50,000 a year could save $153 by choosing to pay the new flat-tax rate, and a married couple with two dependent children making $50,000 a year would save $14.

The chart assumes those staying in the current system take the standard deduction and don't itemize. Because of that, married couples with two children who make $75,000 or $100,000 in the charts would actually see a small tax hike under the 5 percent flat tax.

However, Spendlove said although around 60 percent of Utah taxpayers don't itemize, high-income taxpayers almost always do. So those families, too, would save more money by switching from an itemized return to the new flat-rate tax system.

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E-mail: bbjr@desnews.com; lisa@desnews.com