Utah’s economy appears to be rebounding, but the money that legislators have available to spend on state programs is lagging behind the state’s economic and population growth.
That’s because earmarks, tax breaks and credits given to dozens of industries and groups of individuals are eating up as much as $600 million in taxpayer money, tying legislators’ hands when it comes to funding government programs, according to the group Voices For Utah’s Children.
"It’s important to be able to look at each of the exemptions and look at it based on the data we have … to be able to really analyze which of these sales-tax exemptions are pulling their weight, are really providing additional jobs and additional investment in Utah, and which ones may have outlived their usefulness," said Alison Rowland, a policy analyst with Voices For Utah’s Children.
Earmarks have grown by about 900 percent since 2005, she said, meaning the amount of sales tax revenue that already is dedicated to a specific area is much larger than it used to be. Salt Lake Tribune
