The Argus has a story this AM where State Rep’s Spencer Gosch and Tom Pischke are howling over being called on the carpet for their vote in the House of Representatives as they tried to create a new County Sales Tax during the last Legislative Session:
And while the ads hone in on one vote cast by Pischke and Gosch during the most recent legislative session — support for a bill that would have given counties the power to implement a half-penny sales tax with voter approval — they signify a larger struggle over the Republican Party of the future.
“I think it’s critically important that traditional conservative Republicans are the voice of our party and not these unusual fringe people,” Schoenbeck told the Argus Leader Friday morning, though he declined to say how much his PAC spent on this round of attack ads and how many incumbent lawmakers are being targeted. “This is an election that’s gonna have a lot to say about it.”
I’m not an expert, but I try to think critically about things like this.
Is there a longer term plan associated with this?
If we fund in one area, do we defund in another?
Are counties responsible for the maintenance of anything that is not covered by the state or local municipalities that is critically important?
I wonder what is the rest of the story.
Counties take care of jails (show me a city jail), criminal prosecution and defense. We keep track of births, deaths, property transfers and marriage licenses. Voter registration, collect property taxes, courthouse security, rural planning and zoning, county highways, care for the indigent and much more.
Consider, when you want to pay your taxes you don’t go to Pierre. When you want to get your brother oft of jail you don’t go to the city. The county is the service station for government.
And we do it all with our 15-20% share of property taxes.
Counties are agents if the State. Their main priority is to collect te taxes on behalf for the state. The counties recieve many types of taxes,etc be clear. The role of the county is merely ADMINISTRATION.
Just ad I have done with the city, I would like to obtain. Copy of the CAFR for the counties themselves to assess and audit all taxes recieved by the counties before we elect to adopt a new tax.
The county rwcieves not only property taxes, they get to keep 30% of all Motor Vehicle Funds which fund county roads, bridges, and maintenance of thise roads.
Let alone, the county also gets help from the 54% of the MVFs from the State whim contributes revenues for State highways in the county.
Let’s not talk about also all the imposition fees (license, permits, transaction fees, etc) imposed on the commercial activity in the state which fund ADMINISTRSTION costs…
Lets also add up all the Duties (user fees)collected by counties foe public. Services procides by the county.
What about Federal and State Grants?
What about Bobds the county takes out from time to time..
Do the counties really need more revenue ?
Is that a decision you should be making for them or should we allow the counties and their elected officials to determine that for themselves?
This article does a great job in showing just how dumb Lee Schoenbeck believes South Dakotans to be. HAs if anyone with a brain would actually believe he’s anything but the living EMBODIMENT OF THE SWAMP.
His vote against repealing the grocery tax lives in infamy around the state.
The constant assault on the truth my his faction is disturbing,
I’ve been saying this for a while. Schoenbeck is the swamp. It’s really hard to vote for lawyers and judges in state legislature. They serve no purpose but their buddies and themselves.
Schoenbeck playing chess they are playing checkers.
Schoenbeck isn’t always right but I’d say he schools the house all the time. They don’t play for keeps. He does. So does the governor. This isn’t the JV anymore.
Yeah he lies and so does she….great example
I don’t think I have agreed with Odin before but he is spot on…. Lee is the architect of a huge tax and busted kneecaps as he said himself to get it done but then the real conservatives are tax and spenders.
Talk about dishonest
Jeff Barth raises very legitimate points. I do not want to stir the partisan pot, but I’d certainly be interested in learning why Lee Schoenbeck thinks having local taxation options, particularly with local approval, are not consistent with responsible governance and GOP values. Maybe I’m missing something.
Lee of all people talking about draining the Swamp?
He’s as anti Trump as you get. He misleads and spends money to confuse like democrats. I don’t get him.
Trump is the swamp. How can you STILL not see this.
They created a tax? Oh wait, no they didn’t. They returned the control to locals who can decide for themselves. Lee had a chance to remove a regressive tax on food and he didn’t. This article is nothing more than paid propagand and it isn’t even quality. I’d ask for my money back.
The house cant organize an impactful attack on Schoenbeck if they wanted to. that’s why he keeps playing with them. They are mice. he is the cat.
Until the house finds a few dogs they can expect the cat to keep picking them off.
I don’t know about this year’s bill, but the previous proposals in past years I believe contained the following regarding the sales tax that the counties could impose. It is for a limited time, is 1/2 percent sales tax, has to be passed by the voters, and was intended to build jail facilities. It would not burden the landowner with a rise in property taxes and would allow any jail bonds issued to be paid off quicker thus saving big money. That is, IF the voters wanted a new facility.
The Counties are nothing more than “State” administration agencies of whom are collect and remit state taxes from the people to the state treasury. Before we give the counties the authority to collect, remit, and distribute any form of a sales tax, one must first review, inspect, and audit the ‘taxes’ already collected by the county, and the expenses paid by the county.
I have done this as such, for the City of Sioux Falls, to find out that the city itself collects roughly $390,000,000 in state and local taxes deposited into the city treasury. But then on top of that, it receives in addition to that revenue – Federal and State Grants, Federal and State Loans, Interest Income, Municipal Bonds, Tax Surpluses, etc.
What is the completely list of State and Local Taxes received by the Minnehaha and Lincoln Counties, and what other forms of “revenues” do the counties take from other sources?
For example, Minnehaha County collects all of the Property Taxes from the “people” residing in the county, while it remits much of that revenue to the State Treasury, it keeps it’s portion of the monies in the county treasury.
Then you got Motor Vehicle Funds – it is the collector of these funds, while 54% of the funds go to the State Treasury, another 5% of the funds go to the Municipalities, and another 3% go to the Townships; this means the Counties are keeping at least 25% of the motor vehicle funds in the county treasury to be used for County roads, bridges, and the maintenance of each.
The Counties also collect “imposition fees” such as Business License, Permits, Applicant Fees, Transaction Fees, Other Tariffs assessed to profits and gains on activities from the land inside the county – these types of ‘fees’ fund Administration Costs.
And finally, the Counties have the right to assess and collect Duties (user fees) charged out for ‘services’ provided by the County itself, these fees fund and manage the ‘public services” provided by the county, and help to manage the county itself.
What is the total value of Excises, Duties, and Impost Taxes collected by the County?
What is the over all costs of operations for the County?
What other “Sources of Revenue” do Counties receive such as Federal and State Grants, Loans, Interest Income, etc?
Is a county assessed sales tax really necessary?
If minnehaha wants no taxes and lincoln wants a bunch why don’t we let the people there decide? Isn’t that federalism? Same as let the states decide? People will move to an extent.
Any new sales tax for the county would be a ‘statewide vote’ cause the constitution says we cant create a new tax without a statewide vote.
It would be really cool if these people would represent us, and not “their party”. At least we see where Lee’s priorities lie, party over people!