SALT LAKE CITY — A bill to remove the state portion of the sales tax on food won unanimous approval from a House committee on Tuesday.
But House Bill 101 comes with strings attached: it would not go into effect unless votes approved a proposed constitutional amendment to remove the earmark for education on the income tax.
"Utahns have made it clear that removing the sales tax on food is their top priority," said HB101's sponsor, Rep. Judy Weeks-Rohner, R-West Valley City.
The deal is one being offered by Republican legislative leaders on Utah's Capitol Hill to address what they say are budgeting imbalances. The sales tax, which funds a lot of general government services, is a more volatile form of revenue while income tax is considered more stable.
But lawmakers are facing some pushback over the choice they're forcing on voters. Education groups say right now, they do not support the proposed constitutional amendment (although they add they are still negotiating it).
"When you come up here? You have to negotiate and you have to do compromise," Rep. Weeks-Rohner told FOX 13 News. "I’ve worked with so many people across the aisle, people throughout the state. Let’s see what the people say."
In Tuesday's hearing before the House Revenue & Taxation Committee, Rep. Weeks-Rohner's bill won public support. The Crossroads Urban Center, which works with Utahns in poverty, said it was agnostic on the proposed amendment but supportive of eliminating the sales tax on food. So was the Utah Retail Merchants Association.
