Public hearings debate tax reforms

ST. GEORGE — The announced list of proposed state tax reforms were denounced by city and county officials here Thursday.

"We are looking for citizen input on what our tax structure should look like," said Rep. Curtis Bramble, R-Provo, co-chairman of the Tax Reform Task Force during a public hearing at the Washington County administration building. "If these ideas aren't satisfactory, then are you satisfied with the status quo?"

Thursday's meeting in St. George was the last of six public hearings held by the task force this month. The group met earlier in the day in Cedar City.

Santa Clara city manager Matt Brower reviewed the history of taxation for the group and suggested imposing a general sales tax on services.

Bramble said city leaders would have to ask themselves which services they would then want taxed.

"What services should a city provide and at what point should a city say 'No,' " he asked Brower. "Over 60 percent of the services used are medical services and it would be unconscionable to tax some of those. There's no support for that."

Brower argued that eliminating the local option sales tax would put cities at risk.

"I know you've had an earful as you've gone from one end of the state to the other," he said. "But it's critical that you clarify the risk this would place upon cities."

Washington County Commissioner Jim Eardley said the county is also opposed to a repeal of the local option sales tax.

"That sales tax brought in $4.7 million this year to the county," he said. "We're projecting a 12 percent increase in that amount next year. For us to offset that, the county would have to raise property taxes 110 percent, and no one in the county wants to do that."

Rep. Steven Urquhart, R-St. George, said the task force was listening to and searching for options.

"We know that our tax burden is too high," he said. "Half of our state budget goes to education. Would you have us cut that? Another quarter of it goes to health and human services or Medicaid. We have constituents screaming for the rest of the money and we need to know that the taxpayers are screaming, too."

Educator Alice Holmes voiced concern over a proposed change in funding the state's public school system.

"I'm concerned with the proposal to change funding for public education from the property tax to sales tax," she said. "That would move it from the most stable tax to the most volatile. How are we going to fund the growth that we know is coming?"

Holmes said teachers were getting very discouraged.

"We've gone without for so many years and we're not seeing much of anything this year," she said. "It makes retirement look pretty good. Maybe doing what I do isn't worth it."