Forget the debate over flat tax. Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. said Thursday the state should set "flatter" income tax rates instead.

The difference? A so-called flat tax would mean a single rate for taxpayers, no matter how much — or how little — they earn. A flatter tax, as defined but not detailed by the governor Thursday, would offer a break to those at the lower end of the earnings scale.

"I want to make sure that whatever we do is fair, and by being fair, I mean not putting a burden on those who are at the lowest end of the income category. So it's a flatter tax, not a flat tax, that we're working toward," Huntsman said, calling it "a flatter, simpler tax."

His comments, made during the taping of his monthly televised news conference on KUED Channel 7, come on the heels of a special Tax Reform Task Force subcommittee recommendation that it consider moving Utah to a 4 percent income tax rate.

That preliminary step has already been criticized by some lawmakers as enriching the wealthy at the expense of the poor. But task force members have so far shown little interest in looking at alternatives such as changing the current tax brackets so lower-income earners would pay less.

The governor said he wants to give taxpayers "more in their hip pocket to put back into the economy," but any tax plan "that would adversely affect those at the lowest end of the income scale would not be acceptable to me."

According to legislative researchers, taxpayers earning $45,000 annually or less would see a tax increase with a 4 percent flat tax while those earning $55,000 or more would see their taxes cut.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which asks its members to donate 10 percent of their income to the church, has called for the state tax system to continue to provide tax deductions for that and other charitable giving.

The 4 percent income tax rate would do away with the existing deductions for charitable contributions, mortgage interest and dependent children. If those deductions are left intact, the rate increases to 6.6 percent, or near the 7 percent rate under the current system.

Huntsman predicted a flatter tax proposal would have an easier time winning approval in the House and the Senate than the current flat tax plan being considered by the task force.

"I think a flatter tax could," he said. "A straight flat tax? I don't know. I haven't done the counting. . . . There's just so much in process right now, it's hard to draw any conclusions."

He noted that the tax reform study includes a review "whereby everyone who's involved in this task force will look at possible deductions, whether they should be in or out."