South Dakota government banked more cash last year despite sales tax slide

Governors Office releases 2023 numbers that show nearly $100M surplus, dip in largest tax revenue source

Photo by Alexander Grey on Unsplash

South Dakota government collected nearly $100 million more than what it projected spending in the last year.

But sales tax collections were below projections in the fiscal year that preceded a statewide tax holiday, which hit the books this month.

The Governor’s Office Monday released year-end numbers for the 2023 budget year, which ended July 1, that show South Dakota closed with a surplus of $96.8 million.

Meanwhile, sales and use tax, which is the state’s largest revenue source, finished 0.5 percent below estimates, down $6.9 million from the Legislature’s year-end estimate.

The new numbers come just weeks after a sales tax holiday went into effect. Debate around lowering the sales tax from 4.5 to 4.2 percent brought warnings that a downturn in state revenues could be looming.

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