Utah lawmakers roll all tax cut proposals, including food tax, into one big bill

SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — As time runs short in the Utah legislative session, lawmakers have folded all their tax cut proposals into one large bill.

House Bill 54, sponsored by Rep. Steve Eliason (R-Sandy) and Sen. Dan McCay (R-Riverton), passed out of a Senate committee earlier this week and is awaiting a vote in the full Senate.

The bill would cut the income tax rate to 4.65 percent, saving a family of four making $80,000 about $208 a year. The measure would also expand the social security tax credit for seniors and the earned income tax credit for low income earners, and double the tax credit for the year a child is born.

Lawmakers have also now included in the bill a removal of the state portion of the sales tax on food if voters approve of changing the state constitution in 2024. Leaders in the House and Senate have said that's necessary in order to make sure other needs have enough money if the food tax goes away.

That proposal to change the constitution, Senate Joint Resolution 10, passed Tuesday evening in a 22 to 6 vote and now heads to the House of Representatives. It would remove the longtime earmark on income tax revenue that's used to fund education, disability services, and programs for children.

Educators have opposed the constitutional amendment so far, but legislative leaders said Tuesday they are still in discussions with them about how to provide a guarantee for education funding.

Rep. Judy Weeks Rohner (R-West Valley City) has helped lead the charge on getting rid of the food tax. Her bill to do that, House Bill 101, isn't moving forward anymore because of the larger measure. But Rohner told KUTV 2News she’s glad the food tax issue is advancing and hopes voters will get the chance to ultimately decide.

“That's the most important thing. That's a victory,” Rohner said, “because the people are the most important thing. They are the ones that should decide. Not me. It should be the people.”

The legislative session ends Friday.