A projected budget surplus has some Utah lawmakers pushing to curb government spending by giving permanent tax cuts or increasing state reserves.
Republican Rep. John Dougall of American Fork is sponsoring a bill that would cut the state income tax from 5 percent to 4 percent. House Bill 299 would also reduce the state sales tax from 4.7 percent to 3.5 percent.
Dougall says taxpayers would use the money more wisely than government and could help spur the recovering economy with their spending.
Republican Rep. Jim Nielson of Bountiful says the surplus should be used to boost savings. The higher reserves would prepare the state for the next economic downturn and potentially generate enough interest to allow significant tax cuts in the future.
