Utah's lawmakers and Huntsman win high marks for jobs
But many residents are unsure about new tax system
A new survey for the Deseret Morning News and KSL-TV by Dan Jones & Associates quizzed Utahns on half a dozen tax and legislative matters.
Overall, Utahns are pleased with their state public servants' work: 77 percent strongly or somewhat approve of the job Huntsman did during the session (the governor still has until March 20 to sign or veto 523 bills and resolutions), while 67 percent like the job the whole Legislature did, Jones found in a survey of 418 adults statewide.
The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percent.
Three out of four Utahns agree with the $220 million tax cut. Only 21 percent disagreed on the tax reductions.
An impressive 82 percent also like where the mix of tax cuts will be coming Jan. 1 of next year: $110 million in personal income tax reduction, $40 million in a general sales tax cut, with another $40 million in the food sales tax reduction, and $30 million in targeted special tax reductions.
Jones found that 48 percent like Huntsman's new 5 percent tax system, which will replace previous tax exemptions and deductions with tax credits. Almost all Utahns will see a tax cut. However, several thousand high-end taxpayers, over $250,000 of yearly income, with large families, large mortgages and large charitable donations will see tax hikes from $200 to $3,000, state economists predict.
Twenty-three percent told Jones they don't like the new tax system and 28 percent said they didn't know enough about it to have an opinion.
Half of those polled told Jones they believe Huntsman's new 5 percent single-rate system of credits will be more simple and fair than the "dual" tax system which will be in place for just this 2007 tax year. Nineteen percent said they prefer the "dual" system and a third said they didn't know.
While Utahns over the years have said they want all of the sales tax removed from unprepared food (Utah is one of the few states that tax that most basic of necessities), many Utahns are wary of completely taking the food tax off now.
Under a law passed this session, come Jan. 1, 2008, the food sales tax across the state will drop to 3 percent. Asked if that final tax should be removed now, 55 percent said yes. But 40 percent said no, the smaller food tax should remain. Five percent didn't have an opinion.
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