SENATE OKS 2 TAX-RELIEF BILLS

Two bills giving more property-tax relief to the elderly and poor were approved by the Senate on Tuesday, but both will be held until lawmakers figure out how much money they have to spend.

Gov. Norm Bangerter wants $1 million more added to the current Circuit Breaker tax credit program for the elderly and low income.One Senate bill would add a little over $1 million, increasing the maximum credit from $300 to $350 and raising the among of income allowed under the program.

The second bill would go further, pumping more than $4 million more into the program and indexing the tax break to inflation. Senators don't know if they have $4 million to spend on property-tax relief, and that measure may ultimately die.

Under the more generous bill, sponsored by Sen. Karl Swan, D-Tooele, the top credit would go from $300 to $550 and the lowest credit from $25 to $150. A qualified person could earn as much as $16,000 a year and still get the $150 credit.