Competing tax cuts: South Dakotans still don’t know what relief package they’re getting

Lawmakers waiting on final revenue estimates before acting on relief packages

All signs indicate a tax cut is coming for South Dakotans. But the halfway mark of the winter lawmaking session has passed with little clarity about what that’ll look like.

That’s because three competing proposals aimed at keeping more money in the pockets of South Dakota taxpayers remain on the table — a food tax cut, an overall sales tax rate reduction and a property tax relief package.

Gov. Kristi Noem’s administration continues to work toward eliminating taxes on groceries, a campaign promise the Republican governor says is needed for struggling families dealing with soaring food expenses.

However, she’s finding resistance from some of her fellow Republicans in both the House and Senate who prefer either a cut in the general sales tax from 4.5 percent to 4 percent or a cut aimed directly at South Dakota homeowners.

Each proposal would come at varying costs to state revenues, either in direct reductions in tax dollars flowing into the state or, in the event of property tax cuts, through reimbursements to other governmental jurisdictions.

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