Utah lawmakers abandon sweeping tax overhaul, plan to study issue over interim

(Rick Egan | Tribune file photo) Rep. Tim Quinn introduces the new sweeping tax overhaul bill during it's first public hearing in a committee meeting, Friday, March 1, 2019.Utah legislative leaders will announce Thursday that they are abandoning efforts during the current session to overhaul the state’s tax code, The Salt Lake Tribune has learned, following mounting pressure and criticism from industry, community and education leaders.

The announcement follows weeks of closed-door negotiations over HB441, which sought to dramatically expand the state’s sales tax through the addition of new taxes on services-based business. Those new taxes would have been offset by a corresponding cut to the…