No more surplus estimates

For more than 20 years the Utah Tax Commission has told the public and legislators monthly how much of a revenue surplus, or deficit, the state was running.

No more.

Tax commissioner Marc Johnson said Friday that the TC23 monthly revenue report will not include any estimates of tax surpluses over budget because "several legislators" asked that it not. He declined to say which legislators asked that the report refrain from reporting surplus estimates.

"I'll try to correct the problem," said House Speaker Greg Curtis, R-Sandy, when asked why some legislators pushed for the change.

"It is stupid" not to tell the public about tax revenue surpluses, said Curtis, who faces a tough re-election battle Tuesday in District 49.

Senate President John Valentine, R-Orem, who is not up for election this year but is in a tight battle for his leadership post, said he knows of no legislators who asked that the report be changed.

Rather, said Valentine, tax commissioners came to him to talk about how to better list Tax Commission collections in light of professional changes to their staff.

At times over the years, the TC23 report's numbers became political fodder, as some conservative legislators pointed to huge revenue surpluses as reasons to cut taxes and more liberal lawmakers pushed to have the extra money spent on education, human services and other state needs.

And incumbent lawmakers occasionally had to defend their spending practices during re-election campaigns. The four tax commissioners are nominated by the governor, but confirmed by the Senate.

Curtis said he attended a meeting called by Valentine that also included Tax Commission chairwoman Pam Hendrickson. Several senators said they wanted the TC23 report changed, and Curtis said he didn't object. "But I didn't understand they were taking out" the tax surplus estimates. "I want the best information we can get."

Valentine said commissioners were concerned that estimates may be wrong and thus misleading. He said tax collections routinely do not come in evenly every month, but in cycles, such as high sales tax collections at Christmas time and high income tax in April.