Rushing to Special Session

None by KCPW

Political Bartering Has Sales and Income Tax Proposals in Tandem

(KCPW News) Overhauling the state income tax system may seem a tall order for a one-day special legislative session - especially given the major math errors that derailed previous attempts. But Governor Jon Huntsman Junior is meeting privately with lawmakers all week long, and says agendas are aligning to get the tax plan passed:

"Politics is oftentimes a bit of serendipity - right time, right place," says Huntsman. "And I think this will be the right time and place for it."

Huntsman says the rush to special session - which he has sole authority to call - is being driven by a secondary interest among lawmakers to put a voter bond on the ballot in November allowing counties to raise their sales taxes to pay for transportation. Time to add anything to the ballot is running out. Huntsman admits the two issues - a sales tax increase and an income tax cut - needn't be coupled:

"But you've got the political will to do them together," says Huntsman. "And when you have political critical mass - which happens so infrequently - doing them individually would be politically impossible, so far as I can tell. Doing them together would allow us to get both of them done."

A lower income tax rate has been a priority of the Governor's for more than a year. Letting voters decide to raise sales taxes to pay for transportation and TRAX has the support of some legislative leaders and many businesses in the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce.

Lawmakers are set to convene on September 5th to discuss the options. If they find consensus, Huntsman says he will call a special session on September 20th.

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