Huntsman targets food tax

PROVO — Republican gubernatorial candidate Jon Huntsman Jr. knows how to get into the hearts of Utahns: pledge to repeal the sales tax on food.

"Sales tax on food is one of the most regressive taxes in our society," Huntsman said Monday in Provo. "It hits those on fixed incomes and the working families hardest."

Utah is one of nine states in the country that continues to tax foodstuffs, said Huntsman, who spoke to a combined audience of the Provo Kiwanis Club and the Utah Risk Management Association.

In Utah, a family with a $60,000 yearly income shells out $439 a year in sales tax on food.

"It's a great idea," said Mike Jerman, vice president of the Utah Taxpayers Association.

"Sales tax on food is very regressive, with low-income families spending a greater percentage of their income on food than middle or high-income families."

Jerman said while it's not a new idea, it has proven difficult to implement.

"Obviously right now, given the last two years of budget cuts, there's not a lot of appetite for further cuts," Jerman said.

Sales tax on food pulls in about $150 million annually for the state government, according to the Taxpayers Association.

Huntsman said he would work closely with cities, counties and school administrators to make sure those groups wouldn't suffer from the loss of that revenue.

Utah's overall tax burden comes in ninth in the United States, Huntsman said.

He said Utah ranks 34th on the scale of business-friendly states — according to a report from a group known as The Tax Foundation — and those rankings translate to an urgent need to revamp Utah's entire tax structure.

"We have to start repealing the taxes that hurt the seniors and the middle-class families," said Jason Chaffetz, a spokesman for the Huntsman campaign. "Remember, this is on groceries, not on tobacco or alcohol or processed foods. Just food; the necessities."

Huntsman said Utah also should reduce the unemployment tax and offer tax holidays.

The state also should offer research-and-development financial incentives to attract "at least two Fortune 500 companies" within the next four years.

"Why does Boise, Idaho, have half a dozen Fortune 500 companies while we have almost none?" he said.

"We need to decide who we are as a state because we are changing. We are not stagnant," he said. "Utah has a new economy based on financial services, education, health services and — something that's somewhat worrisome — an increase in government job growth."

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