Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. said Thursday he was willing to consider reducing property taxes this legislative session, but the $100 million cut proposed by his fellow GOP lawmakers may be too much.

"That would sound to me to be high," Huntsman said during the taping of his monthly press conference broadcast on KUED Channel 7. But he said even though he included no tax cuts in his nearly $13 billion budget, he'd consider a cut in property taxes.

"There's a lot of talk about a property tax cut. As soon as something hits my desk, I'm willing to look at it," the governor said. "That is the only area of tax cuts that I would be interested in considering."

The governor did not mention his opposition to new tax cuts in his annual State of the State address Tuesday, something that House and Senate leaders saw as a sign he was willing to go along with their plans to give their constituents another tax cut this year.

This is an election year for much of the Legislature, and the state's surplus revenues have continued to grow. Huntsman, though, has said that after years of cutting taxes, it's time to put any extra money into schools and other state needs.

The governor said again Thursday that Utahns have already seen major tax cuts in recent years, including a restructuring of the state income tax system that included a drop in the rate to 5 percent.

"That is something we all need to keep in mind," he said.

Both Senate President John Valentine, R-Orem, and House Speaker Greg Curtis, R-Sandy, were encouraged by the governor's comments.

Valentine noted that Senate Republicans have not officially endorsed the $100 million figure for a tax cut, giving them room to negotiate. And now, he said, "the governor has given us a pretty clear signal."

By the end of the 2008 session, Valentine said he was confident Utahns will have been given another tax cut.

Curtis said Huntsman's willingness to consider property tax cuts is "a positive step," considering that Huntsman didn't include any tax cut in his recommended budget.

"There will still be a lot of dialog and compromises. Before we get too locked in, or entrenched to a number, we have to get our February revenue updates" for the 2008-2009 budget year, Curtis said.

Also, the speaker said, lawmakers still need to decide whether there should be broad-based tax cuts that would go to all property owners as well as more targeted tax breaks to, for example, low-income homeowners struggling to pay their property taxes.

Delta Airlines could also benefit from a property tax break this session, said Senate Majority Leader Curt Bramble, R-Provo, if that's what it will take to keep the airline's Salt Lake hub after a merger currently under consideration.

Huntsman said any talk of helping Delta must wait until any deal is done.

"That would be an extraordinary measure," the governor said, adding that while the airline's being a hub "is extremely critical to our economic viability," he would reserve judgement until it was clear that the state needed to take action.

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