Poll finds Utahns prefer food tax cut over income tax cut

Salt Lake Tribune:

Utah's Legislature enters the session flush with cash, but with economic storm clouds on the horizon. Lawmakers expect to have more than $1 billion in surplus to juggle, and Utahns, by a large margin, support investing that money in schools.

Forty-nine percent say school spending is the highest priority; 26 percent say a tax cut tops the list. [...]

Lawmakers in the past two sessions have taken bites out of the sales tax on food. Now, the poll shows, Utahns want another helping.

Forty-four percent of residents said that, if there is a tax cut, it should be on food. Three in 10 wanted to see property tax relief and 19 percent want an income tax cut.

"I really would like to see the tax taken off food," said Lin Jatubczak, a 72-year-old retiree from St. George. "I think that would benefit a lot of people who really need help."