citizen employment schedules. Rep. Tyler asked about the frequency of such conflicts. Greg
Fredde, Utah Taxpayers Association, cited examples he was aware of and said the hearings
should be scheduled to allow accessibility to working taxpayers.
MOTION: Rep. Short moved the committee pass out favorably the proposed legislation "Truth in Taxation Hearings"
as a committee bill with a recommendation that the Rules Committee refer the bill to the calendar.
SUBSTITUTE MOTION: Rep. Tyler moved that the bill be passed out favorably as a committee bill with the recommendation that the Rules Committee send the bill to a standing
committee. Rep. Tyler withdrew his motion.
The committee voted on the original motion by Rep. Short. The motion passed
unanimously. Sens. Dmitrich, Poulton, and Stephenson and Reps. Harper and Jones were absent
for the vote.
Rep. Short next introduced to the committee draft legislation "Property Tax _ Circuit
Breaker Amendments." He asked Larry Richardson, Salt Lake County Treasurer, to further
explain the need for the legislation. Mr. Richardson said the bill expands the circuit breaker
eligibility provisions to allow a person owing delinquent property taxes to qualify for a
homeowner's credit. He noted that this bill will help low income, elderly persons and will not
significantly impact the circuit breaker budget. Ms. Rockwell reviewed the section of the bill
relating to the extension of time for filing a claim.
MOTION: Rep. Valentine moved to pass out favorably the proposed legislation "Property Tax _ Circuit Breaker Amendments"as committee bill
with a recommendation that the Rules Committee refer the bill to the calendar.
The motion passed unanimously. Sen. Poulton and Rep. Jones were absent for the vote.
Rep. Short then explained that the proposed legislation "Income Tax _ Election Campaign
Fund Designations" increases the allowable contribution to be paid into the election campaign
fund from $1 to $2. He noted that both the state Republican and Democratic parties support this
bill.
MOTION: Rep. Pace moved the committee pass out favorably the proposed legislation "Income Tax _ Election Campaign Fund Designations"
as committee bill with a recommendation that the Rules Committee refer the bill to the calendar.
The motion passed unanimously. Sen. Poulton and Rep. Jones were absent for the vote.
Rep. Short reviewed the proposed legislation "Property Tax Notices" for the committee.
He said the purpose of the bill is to inform property owners of the reason for a valuation increase
if the value of a property for the current year is greater than the value of the property for the
previous year. Mr. Richardson spoke about the practical limitations within the existing system.
Brent Gardner, Utah Association of Counties, said that because of the system program changes
required, it would be difficult for the counties to implement this legislation.
MOTION: Rep. Valentine moved that the committee go to the next item. The motion passed unanimously. Sen. Poulton was absent for the vote. Rep. Garn
agreed with Rep. Short that the counties needs to be more accountable to taxpayers.
Rep. Short next reviewed the draft bill "Property Tax Assessment Process" for the
committee. He said the bill provides procedures and guidelines for a county assessor to
incorporate into a property's value a change in use or zoning of the property. He said property
values may currently be assessed at a value different than its present value. Ms. Rockwell
illustrated the process with a hypothetical example ("Property Tax Assessment Process
Legislation - Example")
showing changes in value attributable to the market expectation of a change in use or zoning.
MOTION: Rep. Short moved to hold the proposed legislation for further research. The motion passed unanimously. Sen. Poulton was absent for the vote.
Rep. Short then reviewed the proposed legislation "Property Tax - Voter Approval" to the
committee. He said that the bill reinstates the requirement that a taxing entity obtain voter
approval before imposing a tax rate that exceeds the certified tax rate. Sen. Stephenson noted
that there ought to be a protection in place that requires a vote of the people whenever property
tax rates are lowered to ensure that the tax cut is received by the taxpayers.
MOTION: Rep. Valentine moved that the effective date of proposed legislation "Property Tax - Voter Approval"
be changed from January 1, 1999, to January 1, 1998, on page 5, line 9, and a
t any other place in the bill necessary to make it applicable to the 1998 calendar year. The motion passed unanimously. Sens. Blackham and Poulton and Rep. Jones were absent for the
vote.
Sen. Mantes expressed concern about holding elections on the fourth Tuesday of June when election turn out is usually poor. Rep. Tyler asked about elections in odd numbered years in the
unincorporated part of the county.
MOTION: Rep. Valentine moved that on page 5, line 3, after "June" insert "or at a general or municipal election in November." The motion passed with Sen. Mantes voting in opposition.
Sen. Blackham was absent for the vote.
MOTION: Rep. Walsh moved the committee pass out favorably the proposed legislation
"Property Tax - Voter Approval"
as committee bill
.
SUBSTITUTE MOTION: Rep. Valentine moved that the committee move to the next item. He said the bill needs a full public debate in a standing committee. The motion passed
unanimously. Sen. Blackham was absent for the vote.
4. Individual Income Tax Reform _ Chair Nielson presented to the committee
proposed legislation "Income Tax Amendments - Option A" and "Income Tax Amendments - Option B."
He noted that option A (which is his preference) uses federal taxable income as the basis for state
taxable income and option B uses adjusted gross income as the basis for state taxable income
. Chair Nielson said the bill: (1) repeals the addition to federal taxable income of state income tax
deducted as an itemized deduction; and (2) allows for full deduction of the federal personal
exemption.
Rep. Jones asked about the goals of the bill. Chair Nielson listed the goals: (1) simplify the
state individual income tax form
; (2) provide relief for the seniors and disabled; and (3) stop double taxation of state and federal income taxes.
MOTION: Rep. Short moved that staff prepare several scenarios illustrating the impact of the proposed changes to the individual income tax. Rep. Jones requested that his individual
income tax
proposal of a 90 percent reduction targeting those with an income under $100,000 be included in the motion. The motion passed unanimously. Sen. Blackham was absent for the
vote.
5. Research and Experimentation Tax Credit _ Sen. Poulton urged committee members to support the research tax credit legislation being drafted. He said this would allow Utah to be
competitive in attracting research that is currently going to California because of its tax credits.
Peter Genereaux, Utah Information Technology Association, stated that it is the opinion of
the Legacy Task Force that the survival and expansion of high technology industries are
critically dependent upon research. Glenn Lambert, Director of Tax, Novell, Inc., distributed the
handout "Legislation to Enact a Research Credit in Utah." He presented the following outline of
the proposed legislation to the committee: (1) effective for tax years beginning after January 1,
1999; (2) credit of 5 percent or 6 percent for increased qualified research costs incurred in Utah;
(3) 6 percent applies if more than 25 percent of the company's world wide research are incurred
in Utah; (4) definitions of qualified research costs would be the same as federal law and most
states who have a research credit; and (5) rate determined by reference to California research
credit of 8 percent and adjusted down since Utah's corporate tax rate is lower than California's.
He noted that 35 states have adopted a research credit or other forms of incentives.
Robert Egan, The Utah Partnership for Educational and Economic Development, reviewed the handout "Resolution In Support of A Utah Research Tax Credit." The resolution states that a
research tax credit is needed to sustain a healthy and competitive state economy; and that
research tax credits significantly encourage companies to invest in new products and services
which in turn create more higher paying jobs and ultimately more tax revenues. The committee
was informed that the fiscal note on the proposed legislation would be approximately $2 million.
Stanley B. Parrish, Salt Lake Area Chamber of Commerce
, commented that education would benefit through enhanced local job opportunities for Utah graduates with Ph.D and masters
degrees. Rep. Valentine commented on funding for the fiscal note and cautioned against having
a carry back in the legislation.
Chad Briggs, TheraTech, distributed a handout titled "Research and Development Tax
Credit" regarding the pharmaceutical industry. He urged the committee to support research tax
credit legislation.
MOTION: Sen. Stephenson moved that the committee show an interest in supporting the concept of a research and experimentation tax incentive. The motion passed unanimously. Sens.
Blackham, Dmitrich and Reps. Garn, Jones, Tyler and Valentine were absent for the vote.
6. Revenue Update--Doug Macdonald, Director, Economic and Statistical Unit, Utah State Tax Commission presented to the committee the information in the document "TC-23 Monthly
Revenue Summary." He reported on
the key economic indicators for the first four months of 1997-1998 including: non-farm employment; Utah consumer sentiment index; unit car and truck
sales; residential construction;
nonresidential construction; taxable sales; and payroll tax. Chair Nielson asked Mr. Macdonald to check the figures on page 7 of the handout for a possible error.
Sen. Stephenson asked Mr. Macdonald about the impact of the research tax credit. Mr.
Macdonald
discussed the balanced budget multiplier and the dynamic multiplier model.
7. Other Business _ No other business was discussed.
8. Adjournment --
MOTION: Rep. Walsh moved to adjourn the meeting at 5:05 p.m. The motion passed unanimously.