Governor's Office working on bill to increase Utah's food tax

Last week Governor Herbert and his staff spoke at an event sponsored by the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute staff from the Governor Herbert's Office of Management and Budget(GOMB) talked about a sales tax bill they are working on with legislators.  The bill is complicated and does a lot of things.  When asked if one of the things it would do was increase the sales tax on food, GOMB Director Kristen Cox said, "We are looking at putting tax back on food."

Taxing food is unpopular and not done in most states.  About ten years ago the Coalition of Religious Communities provided strong support to Jon Huntsman, Jr.'s efforts as Governor to reduce the sales tax on food.  Over a two year period Huntsman succeeded in cutting the total tax charged on groceries by over 50 percent.  During this year's legislative session Representative Tim Quinn sponsored a bill that passed in the House that would have eliminated the state portion of the sales tax on food completely.

The discussion about the bill that GOMB staff are working on with can be seen 36 minutes and 50 seconds into this video.