Taxes
Noem signs temporary tax reduction into law, vows to fight for permanent tax cut
After weeks of veto threats, Gov. Kristi Noem signed what some have called the “largest tax cut in state history” into law Tuesday. The move reduces the state sales tax from 4.5% to 4.2%, cutting an estimated $104 million from state revenues in the first year of implementation. But the tax cut has a sunset […]
Noem signs $7.4 billion budget despite previous threats
Gov. Kristi Noem signed the state’s fiscal year 2024 budget into law Monday, providing for increased funding to the “Big Three” state obligations and 100% tuition coverage for National Guard members, among other funding decisions. Noem had made veiled threats in recent weeks to veto the budget because legislators chose to pursue a different tax […]
Noem’s next move will reveal her level of tax-cut commitment
Will she or won’t she? After she signed the budget bill on Monday, that’s what South Dakota lawmakers have to be asking themselves right now as they wonder whether Gov. Kristi Noem will veto the state sales tax reduction they endorsed. At the end of the legislative session, lawmakers compromised on a state sales tax […]
Veto of lodging tax bill doesn’t align with Noem’s freedom-loving rhetoric
Gov. Kristi Noem could often be heard during the pandemic saying that South Dakota’s response to COVID-19 was based on freedom. Her message was that the state wasn’t going to tell local governments to shut down — that was up to them. It wasn’t going to shut down some businesses while designating others as essential […]
Lawmakers approve temporary sales tax cut worth an estimated $104 million in first year
PIERRE — With just hours left in the last regular day of business in the 2023 legislative session, lawmakers compromised to approve what some described as the largest tax cut in South Dakota history. The plan would reduce the state sales tax from 4.5% to 4.2% for four years, saving taxpayers and costing the state […]
‘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 […]
Biden budget asks for 25% tax on billionaires, boosts in domestic and defense spending
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden said Thursday he’s ready to meet with U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to hash out federal spending as soon as House Republicans release their budget, a challenging task without a firm deadline. “I’m ready to meet with the speaker anytime, tomorrow if he has his budget,” Biden said during a […]
House and Senate deadlocked on tax relief deal with time running out
PIERRE — Lawmakers have just one regular day of business left in the 2023 legislative session to pass a tax cut for South Dakotans – and they still haven’t reached a deal. Five options to reduce the state sales tax remain in the mix among leaders in the Senate and House of Representatives, ranging from […]
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 […]
House fails to override Noem’s veto of optional hotel tax increase
The state House of Representatives failed on Tuesday to override Gov. Kristi Noem’s veto of a bill that would allow hotels and motels in “business improvement districts,” or BIDs, to raise a per-room tax. Supporters of the bill fell six votes short of the two-thirds majority needed to override the veto. The vote was 41-29, […]
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 […]