A plan to trade property taxes imposed by school districts in favor of an increase in statewide sales tax gained the favor of most members of the House Revenue and Taxation Committee Tuesday morning.

And though four Democrats on the committee voted against the bill, it passed and is expected to be seen next on the House floor.

Currently, the property tax charged by schools accounts for 60 percent to 80 percent of the property-tax burden in Utah's counties.

HB391 would provide for an increase in the state sales tax rate on nonfood items by 1.65 percent to make up for an equal decrease in the property tax schools charge property owners.

The sales-tax revenue would be distributed based on the weighted pupil unit, making the change revenue-neutral.

The bill, sponsored by Rep. John Dougall, R-Highland, and Rep. Wayne Harper, R-West Jordan, also proposes to eliminate the 12 property taxes that school districts are allowed and mandated to charge and combine them into a single property tax.

Rep. Roz McGee, D-Salt Lake City, voted against the bill, calling the measure too extreme and adding that the state's truth-in-taxation laws should prevent tax increases from going out of control.

View Comments

"I don't think it's the appropriate time to make such a dramatic change in tax policy," McGee said.

Bountiful resident Ronald Mortensen, representing the Citizens' Coalition for Tax Fairness, supported the bill but said he's concerned other taxing entities will sense the vacuum left by a decrease in schools' property taxes and begin "backfilling," or jacking up property taxes.

Harper said the bill disallows tax increases by school districts until 2011.


E-mail: jdougherty@desnews.com

Join the Conversation
Looking for comments?
Find comments in their new home! Click the buttons at the top or within the article to view them — or use the button below for quick access.