Surplus rises again to $179.4 million

Utah's state budget surplus just keeps going up, up, up.

Now, the state is expected to end the budget year on June 30 with an extra $179.4 million — that's on top of the more than $300 million in unanticipated revenues lawmakers had to spend during the 2005 Legislature.

"It's encouraging following several years of an economic downturn and declining revenues," Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.'s spokeswoman, Tammy Kikuchi, said. "Utah's economy is seeing sustained growth."

She said the new numbers, "particularly in the individual income tax category, show there is strong employment growth," while sales tax revenues "show there is optimism in the economy, so people are spending more."

The latest revenue update from the Utah State Tax Commission indicates the state's two main funds — the Uniform School Fund and the General Fund — together are $179.4 million above projections, more than 12 percent beyond the budget.

The state's Transportation Fund is growing, too. That fund is up nearly $12.7 million, an increase of 3.7 percent. Even motor fuel tax collections jumped, despite the anticipated effect of high gasoline prices on sales.

Highlights of the June collections in the preliminary year-end report include:

• State sales tax collections were up 6.2 percent, about as expected.

• Withholding or payroll tax collections were up 10 percent, better than expected.

• Corporate franchise taxes were up 2 percent, less than expected.

• Motor fuel taxes were up 7.7 percent, better than expected.

The new numbers come about a month after state Tax Commission chief economist Doug Macdonald said what was then forecast to be just over a $162 million surplus was "as good as it gets."

The continued good news about revenues has had some lawmakers talking about tax cuts. But the governor and some leaders have said it's too soon for that discussion, that there are other state needs that should be taken care of first.

A survey conducted in late May and early June for the Deseret Morning News and KSL-TV found most Utahns don't want a tax cut. Just 29 percent of those polled said they favored tax cuts, while 63 percent wanted spending on state needs.

Plus, the state is in the midst of a major tax reform effort that could significantly alter Utah's tax structure for the first time in decades. Huntsman already has asked that corporate income taxes be phased out, and some lawmakers are supporting a lower, flat income tax rate.

Kikuchi said the size of the state surplus should make tax reform easier to accomplish.

"If you have more money in the bank, if you have a situation where the economy is sustaining good growth, then it makes it more comfortable then to pursue a reformed tax system," she said. "There is less anxiety and more opportunity for proper discussion."

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