Locals have joined volunteers around the state in an effort to gather enough signatures in order to put Utah tax restructuring on hold until November when it could be on the ballot for Utahns to vote on. After many revisions to the bill, SB2001 ‘Tax Restructuring Revisions’ passed in a special legislative session last month and was signed by Governor Herbert on December 18th. Representative Francis Gibson, the bill’s co-sponsor, visited the Uintah Basin on December 10th to speak on the tax reform at a Vernal Chamber luncheon meeting. Gibson emphasized that the tax restructuring is aimed at fixing what he says is a distribution problem. He explained that on the whole the bill gives an approximate $160 million dollar net tax decrease for Utahns by creating tax decreases of $640 million dollars compared to the increases of $480 million dollars. While that may be true, the volunteers gathering signatures as part of the tax referendum effort are opposing the jump in taxes on food, fuel and services. Those opposed to the tax restructure argue that increasing these taxes hurts the low-income Utahns who are already struggling the most. The group has until Tuesday, January 21st, to gather 116,000 signatures but those signatures must be gathered from residents across the state. Volunteers have been setting up at locations around the Uintah Basin hoping to get the required number of signatures in time. Those that wish to join them and sign the tax referendum need to be Utah registered voters. Volunteers are set up at Davis Food and Drug in Vernal as well as other locations for those that wish to add their signature. Information from those organizing the signature effort in Utah can be found on Facebook on the ‘Utah 2019 Tax Referendum’ group or at www.utah2019tax.com. To read SB2001 ‘Tax Restructuring Revision’, visit le.utah.gov.
*Sign at Davis Food and Drug (located at 575 West Main Street Vernal) all week long from late mornings to evenings.
*Sign at Daniels Plumbing and Heating (located at 1330 East Hwy 40 Vernal) all week long during business hours.
*Sign at Spoofs Coffee Drive Through (located at 215 West Main Street Vernal) is hosting a signing event on Thursday Jan 16 from 8:30 am – 1:00 pm.
