A proposal by Utah State Representative Brian King, D-Salt Lake City cleared committee on Thursday after the presentation of testimony by various groups.  The proposed tax credit program would offer a $1,000 state tax credit to businesses that hire individuals living in homeless shelters or supportive housing.  Read about it in Thursday’s Salt Lake City News Blog post by Eric Peterson.
According to Representative King,

“It’s basically going out and assisting both homeless individuals and the business community in the state of Utah to get individuals transitioned from being homeless to a more permanent setting– a home, a rental unit, something where they can really get their feet under them and move forward with their lives.”

Royce Van Tassell of the Utah Taxpayers Association spoke against the bill during the committee hearing.

“It’s not clear to the Taxpayer Association that social welfare is best conducted through the tax code,” Van Tassell said. “The fact is there is a $1,000 credit for each person and that money came from someplace and it will be paid for by somebody else.”