SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Taxpayers Association said it has run the numbers and the state could have as much as $3 billion in surplus next year.
With that much cash available, the group argues that it is time for a deeper income tax cut. The Utah Taxpayers Association based it on an analysis it did of tax and revenue numbers coming into the state for the next fiscal year.
"On our analysis with all available public data, baking in a recession scenario or a good scenario or somewhere in-between, we think there’s somewhere in between the one and three billion dollar range of a surplus that is entirely plausible," Rusty Cannon, the president of the Utah Taxpayers Association, told FOX 13 News. "And we think it opens up a lot of doors for things that can be done."
The Utah Taxpayers Association has long advocated for income tax cuts. The income tax is earmarked constitutionally to cover education and, most recently, some social services. Cannon argued that all could still be funded.
Legislative leaders have faced pressure in the past to cut taxes in the face of Utah's ongoing fiscal successes including a low unemployment rate. However, GOP leaders have only made modest and targeted cuts largely directed at Social Security and veterans.
Some groups have urged the legislature to increase spending on social service issues as well as things like affordable housing and environmental initiatives.
