"The best way to stop increased spending is to take the money off the table" at the first of the 45-day general session, which starts Jan. 21, said Hughes. And the best way to sell that idea is with tax cuts, he added.

However, Hughes has been around long enough "to know that the spending plan we start out with" at the first of each session "is almost nothing like we see the end of February" when lawmakers set the final budget for the upcoming fiscal year, which starts each July 1.

"But with the surpluses we're seeing in one-time money and ongoing (new tax) revenues, tax cuts have to be part of the discussion" in the 2008 Legislature, said Hughes, even if Huntsman doesn't recommend any on Monday.

Tax cuts in recent Utah legislatures

• 2007 — Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. suggests a $100 million general tax cut; the Legislature passes a $220 million tax cut.

• 2006 — Huntsman suggests a $60 million general tax cut; Legislature approves a $90 million tax cut.

• 2005 — Outgoing Gov. Olene Walker suggests no tax cut; newly installed Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. suggests phasing out the 5 percent corporate income tax, a $200 million tax cut by 2012; the Legislature makes no general tax cuts but adopts several small, "targeted" tax breaks.

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