Utah House, Senate GOP leaders want another income tax cut

SALT LAKE CITY — Ahead of Utah’s legislative session next week, top Republican lawmakers are laying out their priorities.

One thing that remains a near certainty over the 45-day session, which starts January 21, is some type of tax cut. Gov. Spencer Cox has proposed eliminating the state portion of the social security tax for seniors.

But top GOP lawmakers want something else too – another income tax cut. Lawmakers have cut Utah’s income tax rate several times over the last few years.

“If we don’t eliminate the entire social security (tax), we’ll probably take a piece of it,” Senate President Stuart Adams, R-Layton, told KSL TV. “But we have young families that are still paying income tax, and they need a tax cut too.”

In a one-on-one interview Monday afternoon, House Speaker Mike Schultz, R-Hooper, said he supports that.

“We want to give tax cuts for every Utahn,” Schultz said, noting lawmakers have set aside $165 million in ongoing funds for a tax cut – so far.

But the latest estimates presented to legislative leaders in December showed a “softening” in tax revenue, the Deseret News reported. Asked if it’s wise to cut taxes given those projections, Schultz said yes.

“We can always tighten up our budgets,” he said, “look to give more money back.”

Also on the agenda this legislative session is higher education funding, which could face a 10% cut.

During a news conference Monday, Schultz praised some things happening in Utah’s colleges and universities, but he said he wants them to focus more on degrees and programs that are more productive and economical.

“If we’re going to fund them at that high level, then we want accountability,” Schultz said. “We want the money to be put in the right places that actually drops the cost of tuition and focuses on education.”

House lawmakers also said they plan to work on tightening the state’s elections to fix problems found in recent audits.

According to Schultz, legislative action on that front could include making more election information public, cleaning up voter rolls, and potentially stripping election duties from the lieutenant governor.

“To have the lieutenant governor in charge of their own elections, I would like to see [us] move away from that,” Schultz said.

Schultz added that, at this point, this is no “clear consensus” whether to do that. Last week, Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson was asked about the possibility.

“The Legislature’s role is policy. That’s their job, and they’re going to do their job,” said Henderson, a former state senator. “My role is to do what the Legislature and the governor asks me to do.”

As for Democrats this session, Rep. Angela Romero, D-Salt Lake City, who serves as House minority leader, said she wants lawmakers to focus on energy, transportation, the high cost of housing, and education.

“I have concerns with how we’ve addressed public education and how we’re taking funds from public education to provide vouchers for people,” Romero said.

Romero added that this session, she hopes to see fewer “theatrics” that often trickle down from the national level.

“At the end of the day, most Utahns just want a safe place to live,” Romero said, “and they want to know that they have a job and they have a roof over their head.”

Republicans hold a supermajority in both the Utah House of Representatives and Senate.