PIERRE, S.D. – Today, Governor Larry Rhoden announced his Homeowner Tax Relief Proposal during a press conference at the Capitol. Governor Rhoden announced that he will present this proposal to the legislature’s Property Tax Relief Task Force.
“We delivered a great first step to address property taxes with SB 216, and we are not done,” said Governor Larry Rhoden. “The people of South Dakota are looking for us to go a step further. They deserve a real property tax cut, and my proposal will deliver that for them.”
You can find a picture of Governor Rhoden announcing his proposal here.
Governor Rhoden’s Homeowner Tax Relief Proposal would be implemented in the following ways:
- Each county commission would have the option to directly reduce owner-occupied (homeowner) property taxes by replacing the revenue with a county sales tax of up to 0.5%;
- The funds raised from the optional sales tax would be placed into a Property Tax Reduction Fund at the county level;
- The use of the optional sales tax would be 100% dedicated towards directly lowering the county property taxes for all homeowners within the county;
- The property tax reduction would be achieved through a Homeowner Tax Credit, which would be paid out from the Property Tax Reduction Fund; and
- If owner-occupied property taxes in the county are fully offset by the Homeowner Tax Credit, any remaining funds in the Property Tax Reduction Fund must be used to lower property taxes among the other two classes of property: agriculture and other/commercial.
The Homeowner Tax Relief Proposal would be referrable to a public vote in each county, and it would shift a portion of the county tax burden to out-of-state visitors.
“South Dakota is already recognized as a top-three state for taxpayer return on investment by WalletHub, but there is more we can do,” said Governor Larry Rhoden. “Counties should have the opportunity to provide property tax relief and replace that revenue with another source. This proposal would bring that vision to a reality, and I am excited for the Property Tax Relief Force to drill down on the specifics.”
