Sen. Diedre Henderson, R-Spanish Fork, used to bring a calculator to the grocery store.
“The higher the tax on food, the fewer items you get to put in your basket to feed your kids,” she said. “I’ve had to do that.”
Henderson was the only Republican to vote in favor of a bill repealing the food tax on Monday. H.B. 148 died in a Senate Committee after it failed to get a favorable recommendation.
That means Utah will remain one of 13 states to tax unprepared food.
Rep. Tim Quinn, R-Heber City, sponsored the bill. He has repeatedly called the issue a “moral” one, saying Utah’s sales tax on non-prepared food items hits poor Utahns the hardest.
But even Sen. Henderson admitted that getting rid of the food tax is not a popular conservative tax policy. The bill was defeated by a vote of 2-4.
