Report says Utah's economy ready to charge

Report says Utah's economy ready to charge

The Salt Lake Tribune
Updated: 03/17/2009 07:42:34 PM MDT

Utah's economy may be in the doldrums now, but low taxes mean it's primed for prosperity.

At least that is the finding of a report co-written by Arthur Laffer, the supply-side economist best known for the "Laffer Curve."

Utah's low taxes and controlled spending give it the most competitive economic environment in the nation, according to the report by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). Other states that raised taxes to balance budgets are only hurting themselves.

"The economic growth really, really shows that limited government and low taxes are the way to prosper in this world," said Jonathan Williams, ALEC's director of tax and fiscal policy task force and co-author of the report.

The Laffer report gives Utah high marks for having a relatively flat tax, no estate tax, no state minimum wage and being a right-to-work state.

Robert Gehrke