[mtvlover571]

Sounds like we should be seeing casinos popping up around Provo any year now.

SL Tribune: http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/money/5...ntine.html.csp
Utah Senate panel OKs more liquor permits
A bill creating 40 additional restaurant liquor permits — and requiring the state to hire more liquor-enforcement officers — passed out of a Senate committee Wednesday.

SB314, sponsored by Sen. John Valentine, R-Orem, would also give the governor and state senators more control over the liquor board. The move comes after the board has delayed closing profitable liquor stores and eased some penalties for bars and restaurants caught in liquor stings. The Hill: http://thehill.com/blogs/hillicon-va...ng-online-porn
Rep. Jim Matheson (D-Utah) is preparing a bill aimed at making it challenging for minors to access online pornography.

He also wants a 25 percent tax on online pornography sales, which would be used to fund enforcement efforts.

"People say, 'Oh, there are going to be ways to get around it.' I understand, but I think we need to make the effort to do what we can, and I'm not going to sit back and do nothing," Matheson told the Utah outletDeseret News.
Examiner.com: http://www.examiner.com/political-bu...ll-target-poor
Senate bill to raise Utah sales tax on food will target poor

The Utah Senate’s Revenue and Taxation committee passed a bill to the senate floor that will lower overall sales tax within the state, but will increase the sales tax on food.

Three years ago, then Governor Jon Huntsman urged ending the sales tax on food, arguing food is something no one can do without and the poor cannot afford. The legislature compromised, and lowered the tax on unprepared food to 1.7 percent. To balance the loss of revenue, taxes on other purchases, including prepared food went up.

The problem is low and middle income families spend a much larger part of their household budget on food, where every dollar counts. With current price increases, food budgets are being stretched even more.

Advocates of the bill say the lower sales tax does not save the average Utah family very much, and think a more targeted approach for the poor is a better idea than a break for everyone.