property taxes
Legislative Roundup: Noem says no three times, but leaves big questions unanswered
Gov. Kristi Noem has not vetoed the Legislature’s “historic” sales tax cut this week – which lawmakers passed Thursday in spite of her opposition – but she did flex her veto power. Noem issued her first veto on March 2, using a cattle “VETO” brand on a bill that would have allowed local business improvement […]
‘Biggest tax cut ever’? Depends on how you slice it — and on Noem’s reaction
Some legislators are describing the $104 million sales tax reduction they adopted Thursday as the “biggest tax cut in state history.” But is that true? The answer is complex. It might be more accurate to call the current proposal the state’s largest single tax cut in raw, unadjusted dollars. The qualifiers are necessary because of […]
Lawmakers focus on general sales tax reduction, defeating other tax cuts
PIERRE — Gov. Kristi Noem’s grocery tax repeal bill lived for only 17 hours after it was revived Monday. The House rejected the bill Tuesday morning. An hour later, legislative leaders from the House and Senate killed the property tax rebate program the Senate revived last week, with a suggestion to take a closer look […]
Senate revives Noem’s grocery tax repeal in session’s final week
PIERRE – The House and Senate are playing tug-of-war on tax cuts, with three days left before legislators leave the Capitol. After the House of Representatives whittled numerous tax cut proposals down to just one earlier this session, the Senate has revived two major competing proposals – including the Gov. Kristi Noem-backed elimination of the […]
Legislative roundup: Tax talks go topsy-turvy, and the rest of the week’s action in Pierre
Anyone hoping for some measure of finality this week on the tax relief talks dominating the 2023 legislative session was almost certainly let down. Those who relish the spectacle of late-session political ping-pong, however, had plenty to watch. Coming into the session, the state’s historic surplus – made possible by a combination of economic growth […]
Senate passes property tax credits, setting up final-week scramble over tax relief
The state Senate complicated the Legislature’s tax-relief debate Thursday by approving legislation that would provide homeowners with an annual tax credit payment. The Senate passed a bill 31-2 that would send $425 to South Dakota homeowners each year as a way to relieve their property tax burden. The annual cost to the state’s general fund […]
Committee rejects Noem-backed grocery tax cut bill, moves forward with general tax cut
Gov. Kristi Noem’s re-election campaign promise to eliminate the state sales tax on groceries died Tuesday morning in the House Committee on Appropriations, but the committee approved a bill to reduce state sales taxes across the board. The projected $102 million grocery tax repeal was rejected by an 8-1 vote. The committee also rejected a […]
Some Republicans look to ‘take care of our house’ before cutting taxes
PIERRE — Gov. Kristi Noem announced in her budget address two months ago that 2023 was the “right time” to cut taxes and eliminate the sales tax on food in South Dakota. Several legislators echoed that sentiment, flooding the agenda shortly after the 2023 legislative session began with more tax cut bills. But some legislators […]
Lawmakers heap competing tax cut bills on Appropriations Committee
The House Taxation Committee wasn’t willing to kill two tax cut bills during its Thursday morning meeting. Instead, the committee was forced to send the two bills to House Appropriations. The House Appropriations Committee will wrestle with at least six bills proposing various tax cuts for South Dakotans in the coming weeks. “I’m sure House […]
Salivating over a surplus: Tax cut proposals are enticing, but shortsighted
Most national news about the economy seems to be filled with worries about whether or not the nation is heading for a recession. In South Dakota, we’re worried about what to do with this avalanche of tax revenue. In this state, tax revenue projections are traditionally conservative. Lately, they have also been wildly inaccurate. In […]
Minnehaha County mulls $50 million juvenile detention center
SIOUX FALLS – Minnehaha County commissioners may soon ask property owners to foot the bill for a $50 million replacement of the Juvenile Detention Center (JDC) in South Dakota’s largest city. A new Juvenile Justice Center would supplant the 53-year-old JDC with a modern facility twice as large. The project would add 14 beds for […]