Real Property Tax Relief
By: Gov. Larry Rhoden
April 4, 2025
Now that the legislative session is in the rearview mirror, I’m focused on looking forward and unlocking new opportunities for South Dakota. We had a historic 100th legislative session, and we accomplished a lot for the people of South Dakota – but there’s more work to do!
I recently announced next steps to deliver a real property tax cut for the people of South Dakota. During legislative session, we passed my bill, Senate Bill 216, which delivered meaningful, impactful changes to slow down future increases in homeowner property taxes. Now, it’s time to go a step further.
I am proposing to the legislature’s Property Tax Relief Task Force that we give counties the option to cut homeowner property taxes by instead implementing a sales tax of up to 0.5%. The proceeds of that tax must go directly to homeowner tax relief – they cannot be used to grow government. And if homeowner taxes are completely offset, then whatever money is left must go towards commercial and agriculture property taxes.
This proposal will be referrable to a vote of the people, and the people could use an initiative process to put it on their local ballot themselves. This means that every county will have every opportunity to decide if this option is right for them.
During legislative session, we had a couple dozen property tax bills proposed. Only my Senate Bill 216 became law. One reason for that is because many of those bills tried to solve a five-county problem with a statewide solution. My new proposal addresses that by giving counties the option to choose what is best for their people.
It just so happens that many of the counties that have the biggest issues with property taxes are also the counties that see the most out-of-state visitors – like Minnehaha and Lincoln Counties in the Sioux Falls metro and several counties in the Black Hills. If those counties implement this proposal, they’ll shift a sizable portion of their local tax burden onto out-of-state residents, which saves money for South Dakotans.
My team will get to work with the legislature’s Property Tax Relief Tax Force to hammer out this proposal and get it into a final form. I promised to address property taxes for our people – and I am delivering on that promise.
I want to thank the people of South Dakota for the opportunity to serve as your Governor. Becoming governor in the middle of session was its own unique challenge and opportunity. I’ve really enjoyed getting around the state in the last couple of weeks on my Open for Opportunity tour, and that will continue in the weeks to come. I hope to see you in your hometown!
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So I can pay the sales tax in SF, Watertown, Brookings, etc. all of the larger town to lower their property taxes and not do much of anything for property taxes in smaller town, counties in most of the state!
Yes you can pay. So can the tourists. It will be left up to the counties to participate or not.
The tourists only pay while they’re here. The rest of us will pay every time we go to the store.
This idea of Tony’s is dumb.
Tony’s plan would have saved me $4k a year in Property Taxes. I would have had to spend almost a half a million dollars a year to pay $4k in sales tax. South Dakota hates taking money from tourists and would rather put it on the backs of property tax owners. We will never get 66 counties to agree on anything because our problems in the Black Hills are not the same problems that Wilmot, SD is facing. Someone once told me if I wanted fair I should go to Huron in August because they have a great one there.
Everyone else will pay a higher tax so you can save money.
Repeating over and over again will not make it so. This Legislative Session did NOTHING to address property tax relief. The Governor’s bill is vapor, a promise for limits on FUTURE increases (which could be rescinded at anytime). No remediation and no relief. Another task force, paid for by the taxpayers, is challenged to give counties an OPTION to levy sales taxes to offset property taxes. If implemented, despite contrary claims, it will create a brand new bureaucracy and a chaotic hodgepodge of varying county taxes.
This turns renters into serfs.
Because of the extra 50 cents in tax they will pay on $100 of purchases? Serfs, Really?
This is a tax on the masses to benefit the few. Using the financial capital of the lower classes to benefit the financial standing of the landed upper classes is the very essence of feudalism.
Not all home owners are wealthy. With a 1/2 cent sales tax we will still have the lowest sales tax rate in the region. We have no income tax. You are correct, right now the few (property owners, namely owner occupied) are paying a disproportionate amount for services (roads emergency services, etc) used by the masses including tourists.
Much better that renters should have to pay your taxes for you. It’s good to be politically favored.
Famers aren’t paying their share.
Famers control the legislature.
The end.
This has a fair bit of validity
Lame
It’s perverse to make someone else pay your tax for you.
Prop 13. Freezes taxes and saves county money by cutting county assessors staffing by at least half. Not to mention all the time spent training them to be de facto appraisers. Don’t tax me on the potential unrealized gain on my investment. It lets people budget and plan. Removes the need for tax break formulas for elderly. Might still need to increase sales tax a half penny but it would drastically simplify things.
Let’s simplify this whole thing and simply do away with real estate taxes on owner-occupied housing.
Gonna be too simple at that point because there won’t be anything for the schools then. They would have to rework the whole school funds formula, which needs to be done regardless, but no one is going to tackle that behemoth.
If they’re unwilling to do the hard work they shouldn’t be in office.
No argument here. But we elected self indulgent extremists. They don’t understand any of this
A dozen counties are on the verge of going down, lets cut their revenues.
Maybe they should reduce and reprioritize their spending.
Someone already took my thought but I’ll say it anyway. This is dumb.
Really, is this their best effort? Larry and Tony chose the lowest common denominator they could agree on? The dumbest idea on their whiteboard?
Time for bold actions and not kick the problem down the road
Eliminate all townships
Combine counties
Close some school districts
Cap State expenditures and increase the property tax replacement fund (A study several years ago found that on the average State expenditures increased 7% yearly). Local units are capped but the State isn’t.
There’s some things to work with in here. We have waaaay too many counties. Wyoming has 20,000 more square miles but only 23 counties. Consolidation is possible, practical and necessary. Start there and some of the school district issues will begin to resolve. Counties can merge resources and funding. I would’ve enjoyed an honest discussion about this.
.. that’s a conversation that has been had before. It didn’t end well for the person proposing it. Don’t disagree with you, but these counties do not want to give up their offices.
Yeah I’m sure some of the crazies will fight tooth and nail not to get relegated into irrelevancy. Unfortunate that rational people can’t sit down and actually crunch numbers on this and be realistic about the benefits.
Who proposed it, may I ask? Would be interested to hear more thoughts on it and any of their findings. I’m sure the “local control” people will be up in arms, but this could seriously help counties, schools and taxpayers.